The Road Not Taken
by Acathla
Summary: Sometimes, one decision can change your entire life. This is the story of how one decision changed Emily's life forever. slight AU-will eventually be Emily/JJ
1. Prologue

**Prologue **

_November 1986 - Rome, Italy_

It had been a stupid thing to do, done for all the wrong reasons and now she was going to have to face the consequences of her actions. Fifteen year old Emily Prentiss paced outside the doors which led to her mother's private office.

Emily's mother was the American Ambassador to Rome and while she had a public office that she used for her daily work, this was her private office. The office she only used in the evenings when she retired to the East wing of the American Embassy which held the living quarters for herself, her husband and her young daughter.

Emily knew that in the evenings, even if her mother was in her office, she could walk into the room and her mother would set aside what she was working on and give her only child her full attention. Normally, Emily would just knock on the door and walk right in, secure in the knowledge that her mother would always make time for her.

Emily's father was an author. He spent most of his days locked away in his bedroom, working on his latest book. But if Emily needed him during the day, when her mother was busy with her job, Emily knew she could knock on his door.

Emily was pacing now because she knew that when she went into her mother's office and told her what she needed to tell her...nothing would ever be the same again. It would be different and, while she prayed it would be a good change, Emily somehow knew it wouldn't be.

Emily had already had this conversation yesterday, when she'd told her ex-boyfriend John Cooley and it hadn't gone well. Of course that might have something to do with the fact that Emily had told John that not only was she pregnant but that it was his baby. John was 17 and not in any position to be a father.

Emily left his house that day, knowing that she'd probably never see him again. He'd somehow gotten the idea (and Emily hadn't done much to correct him) that she would get rid of the baby. Emily honestly didn't know what she was going to do but she did know that she needed to tell her mother.

Which was why she was pacing outside of her mother's private office at the late hour of 11pm.

After another few minutes of pacing, of panic, of nerves, Emily finally took a deep breath and forced herself to knock on the door.

**"Come in."**Emily heard her mother say and so she opened the door and braced herself for the conversation she knew wasn't going to end well.

Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss looked up from the papers she was reading and smiled when she saw her daughter standing in her doorway.

**"Emily, come in and have a seat."** Elizabeth said before she glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed the time, **"what are you doing up so late?"**

Emily faltered a moment as she sat down on the couch that sat by the far wall. **"Um, actually mom, I need to talk to you, do you have a few minutes?"**

Elizabeth smiled again, **"Emily, I always have time for you darling."** She got up from her desk and moved to the couch and sat down close to her daughter. **"Tell me, what's on your mind?"**

Emily felt her mouth go dry and her mind go blank as the moment came to tell her mother the truth. In a sudden flash, Emily saw her entire life irrevocably change. Regardless of what happened, whether she kept the baby, got an abortion or put it up for adoption, her life was never going to be the same and the plans she'd made for her future seemed to crumble in front of her. Emily felt the tears well up in her eyes. The worst of it was that as soon as she told her mother, she'd have to see the disappointment in her mother's eyes.

Elizabeth noticed the tears gather in her daughter's eyes and she began to worry. **"Emily? Please tell me, it can't be that bad, can it?"**

Emily took a breath and braced herself for whatever reaction her mother would have. **"Well, 'bad' is a relative term I guess but, yeah this could be called bad. Um, mom...I um...I'm pregnant."**

Silence followed Emily's confession as her mother tried to process the words. It felt almost surreal to Elizabeth to be sitting there hearing her fifteen year old daughter say she was pregnant. Elizabeth didn't know how she was supposed to react to this kind of news. She still looked at Emily and saw a little girl, not someone who was old enough to be sexually active. She was _fifteen_for crying out loud!

Emily waited in the silence as her mother processed the news. She knew it was a big shock and it would take a few minutes so she sat and waited.

Elizabeth finally got herself back under control and she looked at her daughter. She heard herself asking the questions that she knew were cliched but needed to be asked anyway. **"Pregnant? How?"**

Emily glanced at her mother and wondered how she was supposed to answer that. It didn't matter because her mom seemed to realize what she'd asked, **"I mean I know how I meant, when did you..."**Elizabeth trailed off, unable to bring herself to ask outright when Emily had lost her virginity. Her daughter having sex was something she'd hoped she wouldn't have to deal with for at least a few more years.

Emily looked down again and whispered, **"five weeks ago."**Emily really didn't want to have to tell her mother that it had been at a party, celebrating John Cooley's 17th birthday. She didn't want to have to tell her mother that she'd been secretly dating John and that she'd only had sex with him that one time as a sort of birthday present. Emily knew it had been a stupid reason, and she'd broken up with John the next day...but it had been too late by then, she was pregnant now with John's child.

Elizabeth did a mental calculation and turned again to her daughter, **"five weeks ago? Before or after you went to John Cooley's birthday party?"**

Emily couldn't look at her mother as she answered, **"technically, after but only because the other guests had left."**

Elizabeth put it together then, **"I guess this means that John is the father?"**

Emily could only nod. The tears coming back as she felt her mother's disappointment wash over her. Emily braced herself for the anger.

Elizabeth wasn't angry...not yet anyway; right now she was mostly in shock. **"Emily, are you dating John?"**

Emily did look at her mother then as she explained, **"I was but not anymore. I-I broke up with him after the party."**

**"Have you told John that you're pregnant?"**Elizabeth asked, not really knowing what to say. She knew what she wanted to do but that wasn't an option just yet. She wanted to find John and hurt him for what he'd done but she knew that it took two people to have sex. Still...she knew that John was 2 years older than Emily and she figured he'd probably pressured her to have sex.

**"Yeah, I told him yesterday."**Emily said, remembering John's reaction.

Elizabeth noticed the new pain in her daughter's voice and asked, a little wary of the answer, **"how did he take the news?"**

Emily stood up and walked a few steps away, needing to move around, **"he...he wasn't happy. He told me he didn't want to have anything to do with a kid and that if I was smart I'd get rid of it and forget it ever happened."**

Elizabeth listened as Emily told her that John had told to her have an abortion. Elizabeth didn't know how she felt about that. She wasn't sure she would be ok with it if Emily wanted to abort the baby, but she knew that whatever decision her daughter made regarding the baby, she would stand by her. **"Is that what you want to do Emily? Do you want to have an abortion?"**

Emily took a moment to think about that and how she felt about it. She wondered if she could really kill the baby inside of her and move on with her life as if nothing had happened. Could she live with herself knowing she'd taken a life like that? Then she wondered if she was capable at 15 to be a mom. Could she risk her entire future to bring this child into the world? Then she looked at her mother, if she kept the baby, would her mother support her decision? Her mother was a politician after all, and an unwed, pregnant fifteen year old daughter was like poison to a politician. She knew if she kept the baby, it would put her mother's career at risk. An abortion could be covered up and no would ever know. But a pregnant teen was harder to hide.

Emily cleared her throat and said, **"I don't know mom. I don't know if I can do that and live with myself but on the other hand, I'm not old enough to be a mom. Plus, something like this would be easy to use against you. I just...I don't know what I want to do."**Emily was crying by now and hugging herself.

Elizabeth got up and walked to her daughter and put her arms around her. She held her until the tears faded away then she lifted her hand and turned Emily's face towards her so she could look into her eyes. **"Don't worry about my career sweetie. This is about what you want to do and I'll stand behind you no matter what you decide. If you want to keep the baby, we'll work it out. You can finish school and even go to college and I'll be there to help you. Your father will be too. If you want to have the abortion, I'll take you to the clinic and hold your hand through it all."**

**"Oh God, I totally forgot about daddy. What's he going to say when I tell him I'm pregnant?"**Emily was suddenly scared. She knew her father wasn't going to react well. Emily's father had a very specific moral code and even though he spent most of his time at a typewriter typing out his stories, the man was well built and strong and Emily had a sudden flash of her father beating the crap out of John. She didn't want that no matter what John's reaction had been to her news.

Elizabeth smiled as a similar image ran through her head, **"don't worry about your father Emily. I can handle him. This is your decision to make, no one else's."**

Emily nodded. **"Thank you mom for being supportive but, aren't you angry or disappointed or something?"**

Elizabeth smiled then, **"I'm sure we'll get around to angry at some point but right now, I don't think it's completely sunk in. I'm not disappointed in you Emily, I was young once and I know how it can be sometimes when there's pressure to do something. I love you Emily. You're my baby and the fact that you're on the verge of having a baby yourself, doesn't change that. You don't have to decide anything tonight. It's late, how about we both turn in for the night and in the morning we'll fill your father in on the news and we can discuss this as a family?"**

**"Okay sounds good."**Emily said, realizing she was getting sleepy.

**"Good. I meant what I said though Emily. If you decide to keep the baby, we'll make it work. One way or another we'll make it work so that you can finish school, go to college and have a future."**Elizabeth knew she would do what ever was necessary to make sure that no matter what Emily decided, her daughter would have a bright future.

Emily hugged her mother and then they both went upstairs to their bedrooms. Emily fell asleep that night, feeling a little bit better about her situation than she had when she'd woken up that morning. Her mom had taken the news as well as could be expected. She only hoped her father would be in the same mind frame in the morning.

TBC...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is something I started working on a while ago...there's much more to come. It's always intrigued me how one decision can change everything. This story will follow canon for the most part but will also explore how Emily, Elizabeth and everyone around them are affected by Emily's pregnancy. Hope you all like it!<br>**


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Ok so a fair word of warning: I always believed that the abortion mentioned in canon (Demonology) was a turning point in Emily's relationship with her mother. Either because her mom found out about it after the fact and disapproved, or the strain of hiding such a big secret led Emily to pull away from her parents (who then let themselves get distracted by work). So in this story, Emily and her mom have a much better relationship than canon suggests because she turned to her mother when she got pregnant and let her mother into her life. (does that make sense?) ANYWAY, on with the show! Any questions just ask.**

~A

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 1 <span>**

The next morning, Emily woke up and immediately rushed to the bathroom attached to her bedroom. She was kneeling by the toilet, throwing up her dinner from the night before when her mother found her.

Elizabeth walked into Emily's bedroom, wanting to see how she was doing and felt pangs of sympathy when she realized that Emily was experiencing a bout of morning sickness. She hurried into the bathroom and ran cold water over a washcloth and kneeled down to press it to her daughter's forehead.

Emily smiled at the cooling sensation of the washcloth and slowly opened her eyes. She looked at her mom and whispered, **"thanks."**

Elizabeth smiled, **"you're welcome honey. I would ask how you're feeling this morning but I can see it's obviously not a good start to the day, huh?"**She said, sympathy evident in her voice. It tugged at her heart to see her daughter like this, but she knew that this was par for the course when one was pregnant. She remembered all too well what she'd endured when she was pregnant with Emily.

Emily frowned, **"not really but...bright side is that...it can't get much worse than this, right?"**Emily said, panting from the exertion of throwing up.

Elizabeth nodded, **"let's hope not. Are you done?"**

Emily paused, then, **"yeah I think so."**

**"Then let's get you cleaned up and dressed ok?"**

Emily only nodded, thankful that her mother was there to help her. With her mother's help, Emily stood up and walked the few steps to the sink. She rinsed out her mouth then brushed her teeth. Elizabeth turned and left the room to give her daughter some privacy when Emily turned to the shower.

Emily stood under the hot spray and let the tears fall. She didn't really know why she was crying she just knew that she was feeling sad. Emily started thinking about how her father would react and wondered if he would say the same thing John had said about getting an abortion and forgetting she was ever pregnant. The more she thought about it the more Emily realized she couldn't go through with it...she couldn't get an abortion. She hoped that her parents would support her desire to keep the baby.

* * *

><p>Elizabeth got some clothes out for Emily to put on and then sat down in the arm chair that was in the corner of the bedroom. She started thinking about the situation and came to the conclusion that she would support her daughter's decision regardless of what Emily chose to do about the baby, but she couldn't deny that she was hoping Emily would keep the baby.<p>

Elizabeth knew it was foolish to be thinking like this but...this was her grandchild they were talking about. She'd always wanted grandchildren and granted, she'd always assumed that Emily (and herself) would be much older when it happened, and that Emily might be married with a steady career but...life never worked out the way it was planned. As she waited, Elizabeth couldn't stop the images that her mind conjured up of playing with her grandchild. Sometimes it was a grandson that her husband could teach to play ball and sometimes it was a little girl, in a frilly pink dress that she could play tea party with...either way, she always saw a little innocent bundle of joy that she and her husband could spoil and dote upon.

Elizabeth was lost in her musings when the bathroom door opened and Emily stepped out in a towel.

Emily looked at her mother and saw the look on her face that could only be described as 'daydreaming' and she smiled. She hoped that her mother was thinking happy thoughts about her keeping the baby.

**"Mom?"**Emily finally asked, breaking her mother's train of thought.

Elizabeth shook herself out of her musings and looked at her daughter, **"I laid out some clothes for you, I'll wait in the hall for you to get dressed, alright?"**

Emily nodded, then watched as her mother left the room. She turned to the outfit on the bed and grinned. Loose fitting black trousers and a red silk blouse were waiting for her. Emily quickly dressed and met her mother in the hallway. Together they headed for their private dining room where she knew her father was waiting for them, like he always did so they could all have breakfast together.

Emily and her mom walked in silence to the dining room, each lost in her own thoughts, not knowing they were similar thoughts.

* * *

><p>Emily entered the dining room first and walked to her father's side to greet him.<p>

William Prentiss rose from his chair and embraced his daughter, kissing her cheek as they said their good mornings. He then turned to his wife and greeted her with a kiss on the lips and a smile.

Emily watched her parents, seeing the obviousness of their love for each other. She had always hoped to find someone she could love like that...she knew that if she kept her baby, the chances of finding someone who could love both her and her child would be slim but it would be worth it in the end.

William turned to his daughter once they were all settled at the table and smiled, **"so, Emily what do you have planned for this fine Saturday morning?" **

Emily tried to smile but it got stuck in her throat as she said, **"Um, actually daddy, I was hoping we could talk. There's something I have to tell you."**

William's smile never faltered but his eyes cut to his wife, wondering if Emily wanted to talk to him privately or if her mother was allowed to hear what she had to tell him. Over the years, since Emily was ten, they'd had their little secrets. She'd confided in him the innocuous little things that kids always felt were as important as life or death. He never felt the need to break any of her confidences because they'd all been harmless. But her serious tone today indicated it was something big.

Emily saw her father's eyes move to her mom and she knew what he was thinking. She quickly put him at ease, **"mom already knows, I told her last night."**

**"Alright, well in that case, what's on your mind kitten?"**William sometimes called Emily 'kitten', because when Emily was a baby, she wouldn't go down for a nap unless she was laying in a patch of sunshine.

Emily smiled at the nickname and prayed silently that her dad wouldn't react negatively to her news. She didn't want to lose her dad. Emily glanced at her mother for support and Elizabeth smiled reassuringly. Emily cleared her throat and took a breath before she said, **"dad...I'm pregnant."**

Silence filled the room as her father tried to understand what his daughter was saying.

Emily waited in the silence, flashing back to the silence that followed when she'd said those words to her mother the night before.

William looked to his wife, hoping she'd tell him it was a joke, but the look in her eyes told him this was real...it also told him that if he knew what was good for him, he'd accept it and not yell.

William finally found his voice and said, **"pregnant? Who's the father Emily?"**

Emily dropped her eyes to the table as she whispered, **"John Cooley."**

William heard the name and he flashed on the face of the boy that Emily had always claimed was just a friend. He also recalled that John was two years older than Emily. William took a breath to calm himself before he continued, **"have you...does he know yet?"**

**"Yes daddy. I told him two days ago."**Emily answered, hoping her father wouldn't let his emotions drive him to do anything to John.

**"I see...and what was his reaction?"**William asked, hoping that she wouldn't tell him the boy wanted to marry her. He wasn't ready for something like that.

Emily silently explained John's reaction, his insistence that she get an abortion and her own ambivalence about the 'solution' John was so in favor of.

William listened and turned to his wife, **"does your diplomatic immunity extend to cover me if I kill the little bastard?"**

Elizabeth smiled, knowing her husband was only partly serious. **"yes but, darling, I don't think that will be necessary."**

William smiled, thankful that his wife knew he wasn't completely serious and that she knew enough to play along. He turned to Emily then, **"so, young lady, I guess you have a choice to make don't you?"**

Emily nodded, **"yes sir."**

William stood from his chair and extended his hand to his daughter. Emily let herself be pulled out of her chair and happily sank into her father's arms as he hugged her close. She closed her eyes and, as was always the case when she hugged her dad, she drew comfort and strength from the embrace.

After a few moments, Emily felt brave enough to lean out of the hug and look at both of her parents. Her mom had gotten up from her chair during their hug and she'd walked over to them. Emily stood in a loose embrace with both her parents and she silently hoped that what she was about to say wouldn't shatter the moment.

**"I kind of already decided last night before I went to bed that...I want to keep the baby. I don't think I could live with myself if I had an abortion. But I know that I won't be able to raise this baby alone, and mom, I hope you meant it when you said that if I decided to have the baby that we would make it work because, I am going to need help."**

Elizabeth glanced at her husband and saw the answer in his eyes and so she turned to Emily and said, **"of course I meant it darling. If you want to keep the baby, then we'll be there for you every step of the way."**

Emily hugged her parents close and thanked them again. They stayed like that for a little while before her father cleared his throat. **"I hate to be the voice of reason here but...we need to tie up some loose ends before we can rejoice."**

**"Loose ends?"**Emily asked, a bit confused.

William looked at his wife then he stepped away and put some space between himself and the women in his life as he said, **"John, for one. He needs to know that you are keeping the baby. Even if he doesn't want to be a part of his or her life, and if that's the case, then our lawyers will have to draw up the legal papers for him to relinquish his parental rights."**

**"But William, John is a minor, he can't sign away his rights, no court would ever uphold the document."**Elizabeth began, pointing out the flaw in his plan.

William grinned, he'd been thinking about this from the moment he found out what John's reaction was to the news. **"He can't, but his parents can. They can act as his guardians and they can sign the papers as well. I'll have our lawyers word it so that they are also relinquishing their rights to the baby. Everyone signs and it's ironclad."**

Emily didn't know much about legal stuff so she took her father's word for it and looked at her mother. Elizabeth thought about it and realized it was the best solution. John didn't want to be involved with the baby anyway, and his parents would most likely agree to sign anything if it meant that they wouldn't have to pay child support. The Cooley's were well known to Elizabeth and her husband and they both knew how the other couple would respond.

Elizabeth nodded, **"that sounds like it would work. Emily, honey, what do you think?"**

Emily thought about it and realized that she didn't care that John didn't want to be involved. She'd broken up with him before she'd known she was pregnant because she had caught him making out with another girl. If her father knew of a way to keep John out of her life and her baby's life...she was perfectly fine with it. **"I think dad should get his lawyers on the phone."**

William smiled then went into his study to make the calls.

Elizabeth turned to her daughter. **"Emily, I am going to ask for a transfer back to America immediately."**

**"Why?"**

**"Once John signs the papers, and you start to show, it will be harder to keep this quiet."**

Emily nodded, she knew her mother's position required some discretion in these situations. **"Where would we go? I mean I'm going to show no matter where we live and the press will get wind of it and then your political enemies will use it against you."**

**"This is not about my enemies. But we will go to your grandmother's house in New Jersey. I will take a leave of absence from the State Department and you will enroll in high school. Once you start to show, we'll get you a private tutor until you have the baby, then you can return to school...a different school and no one will need to know that you have a baby."**Elizabeth explained, having spent the whole night thinking about how they would make it work if Emily decided to have the baby.

**"I can't ask you to leave your job for this mom."**

**"You're not asking I am offering, there's a difference. Besides, this is my grandchild, do you honestly think I am going to miss out on a moment of his or her life for work? Or that I would let anything keep me from being there for you throughout your pregnancy and beyond?"**

Emily felt the tears gather in her eyes. She hugged her mother and said, **"thanks mom."**

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Emily was sitting in the living room watching television as she waited for her mother to finish her workday.<p>

Her mom had been granted the transfer and a limited leave of absence. In two days, they would be flying into Newark Airport, where a car would be waiting for them to drive into Wayne, New Jersey where Emily's late grandmother's house was. Emily's maternal grandmother had passed away when Emily was ten, and she'd left her house and everything in it to her only granddaughter. The house was in Elizabeth's name until Emily turned 18 then the deed would transfer into Emily's name.

Emily thought back to the day, a week ago, when she'd last seen John Cooley. John and his parents had shown up at the Embassy, summoned there by Emily's mom, confused as to why they were there. John hadn't told them that Emily was pregnant.

The shock of the news, helped convinced them to sign the papers without too much thought. John happily signed, grateful to be off the hook as far as child support was concerned. John wasn't the type to think ahead to the future, to a time when he might be older, more mature and willing to be in his child's life. His parents had voiced a token objection but when John had signed, they'd caved in and signed too.

Despite being in Italy, the Embassy was considered American soil. American laws applied and that meant the contract was legally binding in America. It was the main reason why William had insisted on the Cooley's coming to them.

Emily only spared a few moments to mourn the fact that her child might never know its father, and then she put that thought out of her mind. John had made the decision to sign the papers and Emily decided to focus on doing what she needed to do to make sure her baby was healthy, happy and most of all, loved.

* * *

><p>The flight from Italy was uneventful and Emily slept through most of it, thankful that her morning sickness had taken the day off. Her mother had spent the flight reading a novel. Her father used the time to finish the current chapter of his latest book using one of the many notebooks he used when he couldn't haul out his typewriter.<p>

They landed in Newark and after collecting their luggage, they headed to the car rental counter and picked up the car that was waiting for them.

Emily settled into the backseat and leaned her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes. She was looking forward to being in her grandmother's house (she still couldn't think of it as her house). It was big but not mansion big...comfortably family-sized.

Emily let her mind drift to the house where she'd spent her summers when she was younger with her grandmother. It was the closest thing Emily had ever had to a real home. Her mother's position in the State Department caused them to move around a lot as her assignments changed, so Emily had never been in one place long enough to call it home...and Embassies never really felt like home anyway. But her grandmother's house had the feeling of a home, not just a house.

It had four bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a formal living room, a family room, dining room, kitchen, a full basement, a two car garage and a yard big enough to hold an above ground swimming pool as well as a sizeable deck and still leave plenty of open grassy space to run around in. The family room had a set of French glass doors that opened up to the deck that was also connected to the kitchen. Her grandmother had added the deck and kitchen extension a year before she'd passed away.

Emily loved the house and as they pulled into the driveway, she could picture herself raising her child in this house. She could see a little girl or boy running in the yard, splashing in the pool or sitting in the family room watching television as she cooked dinner. Emily smiled, knowing that this would be the perfect place to raise her child.

Emily and her parents got out of the car and Emily pulled out the house keys she always carried with her. Since the house was technically hers, her mother had insisted that she hold the keys, while she'd also made a copy for her own keychain as a backup.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

Emily and her parents spent the next week getting settled into the house. Emily's parents insisted that she take the master bedroom since it had its own bathroom and it would be easier for Emily to reach it when the morning sickness hit. After some debate, Emily gave in and took the master bedroom.

Her parents took the second largest bedroom which was directly across from the master bedroom and looked out over the back yard. The room next to theirs was earmarked to become the nursery once the baby was born. The final bedroom, the smallest of the four but still a decent size, was turned into a guest bedroom.

Emily's mother sectioned off a part of the basement and turned it into a home office so she could keep up with work, the agreement she'd made with the State department was an indefinite leave from international travel but she still had to deal with local issues. She was able to work out an arrangement that allowed her to work from home with only a once a week visit to the local office in Manhattan. Everything else was done by phone or private couriers.

Emily's father placed his writing desk in a corner of the living room so he could work on his book and still be close enough if Emily or his wife needed him.

Emily spent the week getting herself ready to enroll in high school and dealing with the morning sickness that really should've been called all-day sickness.

During their first week at the house, the cable had been hooked up, a phone and a fax line had been installed and mail delivery had been established. The change of address forms were handled and newspaper delivery was started.

They had also gone shopping for furniture, kitchen essentials and groceries. They were settling in nicely.

Elizabeth had looked up local OB/GYN doctors in the area and had located one with a great reputation and had set up a consultation with her. Emily had gone with her mother to meet the doctor and they all got along great so an appointment was made for the following week, to make sure Emily was doing ok with the pregnancy.

It was the Monday before Thanksgiving when Emily found a moment to sit down with both her parents to discuss when she would enroll in the local high school.

Emily had been thinking about this for a while now and she thought she had a good plan and she wanted to run it by her parents.

**"Mom, Dad, I've been thinking about the whole school issue and there's a tiny problem."**

Elizabeth frowned, **"what's the problem honey?"**

**"School ends in June, and I am guessing that by April I'll be showing enough that people are going to guess I'm pregnant."**

Elizabeth and William thought about that and, doing the math in their heads they realized that Emily was right. They hadn't really thought about that much. Elizabeth turned to her daughter, **"you're right. That could be a problem."**

Emily nodded then said, **"yeah, but I think I have a solution."**

Her parents waited for her to continue.

**"April vacation would be the best time for me to withdraw from school. I could say that you are being posted overseas and I have to go with you. A private tutor could be hired and I could finish the school year at home. Next school year, after I have the baby, I could go back to school and no one would have to know the truth."**

Her parents thought about that and realized it was a good plan. It would be easy enough to hire a private tutor who would follow the required curriculum of the school so that Emily wouldn't fall behind. And the paperwork would only show that Emily did the work, not where she did the work. Elizabeth did some mental calculations and figured the baby would be born in late August or early September which would be just in time for the next school year. She turned to her husband to get his thoughts but all William did was nod his head, agreeing with Emily's idea.

Elizabeth turned to her daughter then and said, **"ok then that's what we'll do. Tomorrow, we'll go to the school so you can enroll and we'll explain to the principal that my job currently has me here but that I might be transferred to Europe in the spring. That should give him, or her, enough advance notice so that when you tell them I was transferred it won't be much of a surprise, ok?"**

**"Yeah, that could work. Thanks mom."**Emily smiled and then got up and hugged her parents.

**"I'm going to lie down for a bit."**

**"Ok honey. We'll call you when it's time for dinner."**William said, a smile on his face.

**"Thanks dad."**

Emily went upstairs to her bedroom and laid down. She was getting more and more tired lately and she chalked it up to being pregnant. She hoped that the morning sickness would start taking the day off once she started school, or else she was going to be running to the girls' room a lot.

* * *

><p>The next day, Emily and her mom went to the local high school, Garfield High, and managed to get Emily enrolled in classes. Since it was mid morning, the principal suggested that Emily start bright and early the next day so she could make it to homeroom.<p>

They left the school and grabbed some food at a local deli before heading back home. Emily was looking forward to going to high school again. In Italy, she'd gone to a different school, one attended by only the children of diplomats and other important government employees. She hated it because all the other kids were stuck up and rude. The only friends she'd made were John, and Matthew Benton.

Emily missed Matt, he was one of her best friends. Matt was gay and in the closet so he tried to come off as straight but he'd confessed to Emily. She'd defended him to the guys and made sure no one picked on him. She wondered how he was doing now that she was gone. She hoped he was okay.

Emily spent the rest of the day watching television in the family room as her mother worked in her office and her dad worked at his desk on his novel.

* * *

><p>A month went by fairly quickly as Emily assimilated into the high school culture. She decided that it would be better if she started wearing looser clothing than she was used to now, so that when it became necessary later as her stomach began to grow it wouldn't be such an obvious change.<p>

Emily managed to make one new friend at the school, she was trying not to make too many friends yet because it would be harder to lie and hide the truth if she made friends but she couldn't help it. Daphne was just too friendly to ignore.

Daphne Morris was a sophomore, like Emily, and they were in two classes together; English and Chemistry. The teacher paired them together as lab partners and before Emily knew what happened, they were friends.

Daphne was fairly tall, almost as tall as Emily, with long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She had a way about her that pretty much made it impossible not to be happy and laughing around her and Emily found that out fairly quickly.

Emily decided that while she couldn't tell Daphne she was pregnant, she could still be friends with the pretty blonde.

Emily kept up with her visits to the doctor and took her prenatal vitamins and, thankfully, her morning sickness faded away by the second month of her pregnancy.

Elizabeth approved of Emily's friendship with the bubbly blonde and supported her decision not to tell Daphne about the baby.

Daphne had come over a few times to study and hang out with Emily and she'd met both her parents. She'd made a great impression on them.

Emily spent most of the Christmas vacation in her bedroom, thinking about her life and how she might be able to still have the future she had planned before she had gotten pregnant. Christmas had come and gone with very little fanfare. They'd had a family evening in front of the fireplace in the family room with the tree in the corner watching holiday movies. It was a simple celebration that was totally different from the lavish parties her mother used to throw.

Emily had loved the quiet family night. She had taken a moment to reflect on the fact that by this time next year, her child would be celebrating his or her first Christmas.

TBC...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry about the short chapter...hope you all liked this current offering.<strong>


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

_A few months later..._

It was nearing the end of March and Emily knew that soon it would be time to leave school. Thankfully, her belly hadn't expanded much in the past few months so she was able to hide her bump with baggy clothes; the winter months being a great excuse to wear extra layers. As far as Emily could tell, no one even suspected she was pregnant.

Daphne had mentioned once that there was a rumor going around about Emily being a snob. A few of the senior boys had asked her out, one to the winter formal and two others for regular dates. Emily had turned them all down, not interested in dating anyone. So the rejected boys had started the rumor that Emily was frigid, stuck up and a snob. Emily didn't care though, she knew the truth and she knew that Daphne knew she wasn't like that and that was all that mattered.

Emily knew that she had bigger things to worry about than what a handful of kids thought about her. In a few months she was going to be a mom and that was going to bring with it a whole new set of concerns that Emily didn't waste much time on the typical high school 'politics'.

It was on a Friday in late March when she finally worked up the nerve to tell Daphne that she was going to be leaving school in April. They were in Emily's bedroom, doing their homework and joking around, when Daphne mentioned the fun they would have when April vacation started and they were off school for a whole week.

Emily bit her lip and knew the time had come to 'come clean' so she took a breath and said, **"um, yeah about April vacation, Daph, um...I'm not going to be here."**

Daphne, thinking Emily meant her family was going away for the vacation asked, innocently, **"you going away for the break?"**

**"Something like that, yeah."**Emily said, trying to put off having to confess the half-truth.

**"Cool, where you going?"**Daphne asked, excited to know her friend was going somewhere for the vacation.

Emily looked away and stared at her closet door as she said, **"my mom's job is sending her to Italy for five months and me and my dad are going with her."**

There was silence as the young blonde thought about what her friend had just said, then, **"so, you're like, leaving the country? What about school?"**

Emily picked up her pencil and began to fidget with it, a nervous habit that only came out when she was stressed...or when she had to lie. **"mom's gonna hire a tutor so I can finish the year there. But she promised me that when we come back in October, I can go back to school here." **

Daphne turned and looked out the window, saddened by the thought of her best friend moving away for the rest of the year. It wasn't fair. Daphne didn't make friends easily, despite her friendly out-going nature, because she had a hard time trusting people. But she'd let Emily in and they were best friends and now, Emily was going to be leaving. **"When are you leaving?"**

**"First day of April vacation."**Emily's voice was flooded with sadness. She really hated lying to Daphne and she was going to hate it more when she couldn't see her best friend every day.

Daphne took it all in and said, **"well then, you know what that means don't you?"**

Confused, Emily just shook her head.

Daphne grinned, determined to not let Emily see how much it was hurting her to know she was losing her best friend, **"it means that we are going to have to cram in as much fun as we can until then!"**

Emily allowed her self to laugh then, as Daphne joined in. She was glad that her friend was taking this so well and she vowed to somehow make it up to her.

* * *

><p>It was the first day of April vacation and Emily wasn't happy. She'd already withdrawn from school and said goodbye to Daphne. Her mom had even gone to the trouble of packing a few suitcases and made a show of driving them all away from the house.<p>

They were in the car now, driving down the highway towards Atlantic City. Emily was a little confused, **"mom, why are we driving so far?"**

Elizabeth bit her lip as she exchanged a glance with her husband before she answered her daughter, **"we're going to be staying in Atlantic City for a few months darling. To help make your 'move' a bit more authentic and to allow you to get out of the house once in a while."**

Emily was surprised at this, her parents hadn't said anything about this until now. They'd just told her to pack as if she really was going away for a while. ** "What? What about my doctor's appointments?"**Emily had really started to like her OB/GYN and she didn't want to think about going to a different doctor now.

Elizabeth smiled, **"Dr. Wingate's sister has a private practice in Atlantic City. Dr. Wingate has been informed of the situation and she's agreed to make the trip down to see you for your appointments. Emily, sweetheart, this is the best solution. This way, you won't have to be stuck inside all the time and you won't have to worry about anyone you know seeing you."**

Elizabeth had really thought that she was doing the right thing for her daughter. This solution seemed to be best for everyone. If they had stayed at the house this whole time, Emily wouldn't have been able to leave the house much, if at all. Someone from her school, or even Daphne herself could end up seeing her and this whole effort to hide her pregnancy would've been for nothing. Elizabeth hoped that her daughter would be able to see this from her point of view.

Emily took a moment to think about what her mother had said. It was true that this might be the best solution. Emily had wondered how she was going to spend the next four to five months basically on house arrest so that she wouldn't risk being seen by someone she knew. At least, if they were in a different town, Emily might be able to go outside once in a while and not feel like she was being held captive. Emily smiled and quickly reassured her mother that she was fine with the arrangement and she understood that this was the best solution.

Emily turned towards the window, a silent signal that the conversation was done for now. Elizabeth understood and she turned up the radio, content to let her daughter enjoy the ride.

William Prentiss just smiled indulgently. There was nothing he wouldn't do for the two most important women in his life. He could write his novels from anywhere as long as he had his typewriter. It didn't matter to him what city he was in, his imagination was strong enough to transport him wherever he needed to be to write his stories.

Emily looked out the window at the passing scenery of highway, river water and endless blue sky that flashed by her and she took a moment to look forward to the next few months as she waited for her child to be born.

TBC...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ok so, despite how much I personally loved the scene where Garcia and Reid were teasing Emily about her goth look in High School, I won't be using it here. Again, in my opinion, the abortion mentioned in canon most likely led to Emily's "rebellion" in HS and her goth period. But now, because she didn't have the abortion, there's no need for her to go goth. I did however use the information from that scene (Garfield High class of '89) to determine Emily's age and where she went to school. Enjoy!<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

Spring flew by and summer seemed to end far too fast but Emily had enjoyed every minute of it. In the mornings, she would spend a few hours with the tutor, going over lessons and getting her schoolwork done. A healthy lunch would follow and then the afternoons were all hers. Once summer had begun, though, there were no more sessions with the tutor and Emily began sleeping in late.

Her pregnancy had started to take a toll on her energy reserves and she found herself needing to sleep more. She also noticed an increased frequency in her trips to the bathroom. But despite all of this, Emily couldn't be happier. Her mother had rented a house right on the shore so Emily often found herself on the sand soaking up the sun and then in the water. They had a private beach so she didn't have to explain to anyone about her expanding belly.

Dr. Wingate had come down on the weekends to check on Emily and give her a friendly shoulder to lean on and talk to about what she was going through with the pregnancy. Emily felt more comfortable talking to her doctor than to her mother and she sometimes wondered why that was, but she never really questioned it. She still confided in her mother and still had her private chats with her father but Dr. Wingate provided an objective point of view.

Summer ended and Emily and her parents had celebrated Labor Day with a barbeque on their back deck. It was a great way to bid the summer farewell.

The end of summer also brought with it, the awareness that Emily could go into labor at anytime now. Her mother started staying home more at the beginning of the last week of August, wanting to be close by in case Emily went into labor early.

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday, September 15, 1987<em>

The day started out like any other. Emily woke up around 11 am and she immediately headed for the bathroom. After she'd relieved herself, she took a shower and got dressed. She was walking down the steps to get some breakfast when the pain first hit her.

At first it felt like a cramp, like something she used to feel when her period would hit her, so she didn't really think much of it. Emily finished walking down the stairs and made it into the dining room when the second cramp hit her. She grimaced at the sensation and her mother noticed.

**"Emily, what's wrong?"**

**"It's nothing mom, just a cramp. I'm fine."**Emily said, trying to play it off, not even thinking that this might be the first signs of labor.

Elizabeth though, knew better. She remembered when she'd gone into labor with Emily that it had started as a cramp as well. Elizabeth walked closer to her daughter, **"Emily, honey, I think you might be going into labor."**

**"What? No, mom I'm not. The doctor told me I wasn't due until the 23rd. This is just a cramp. It'll go away."**Emily was adamant that this wasn't labor. She had been told her baby wasn't due until the 23rd and she wasn't going to entertain the idea that her baby might come early.

**"Emily, we both know that Dr. Wingate said it was only an estimated due date. There are no guarantees. I mean, I was told you were going to be born on Halloween and you came out on the 12th. I think you need to accept the possibility that this might be it."**

Emily took a deep breath and opened her mouth to further deny it when she felt the sensation that she'd...peed herself. She looked down and saw the wet stain on her jeans and she knew something wasn't right.

Elizabeth saw the stain too and she knew that Emily's water had just broken. **"Ok, whether you want to believe it or not, Emily, your water just broke which means you are definitely going into labor."** Elizabeth called out to her husband, who was already in the living room at his typewriter. **"William, it's time!"**

William Prentiss heard his wife call out that it was time and he immediately knew what she meant. Like any man who was told those words in reference with a pregnant woman, William felt the panic rise along with adrenaline. He sprang into action and jumped up from his chair. He ran to the hall closet and grabbed the small suitcase that was resting there that contained Emily's things.

He ran to the kitchen, grabbed the car keys and stopped briefly to look at his wife, **"we're sure about this?"**

Elizabeth just nodded as she began to lead Emily to the car.

Emily was oddly calm between the cramps. They had gotten a bit stronger but were still manageable. She figured that they would get worse later but right then it wasn't so bad.

* * *

><p><em>12 hours later...<em>

Emily was in her hospital room, resting. She had already been moved from the delivery room to a private room. It had been a long day but it had been worth it when her daughter finally came into this world. She had given out a long, loud cry as she was pulled from her warm womb into the slightly chilly room.

Dr. Wingate had made it down in time to deliver the baby and she had cleaned up the squiggling newborn before she clamped off the umbilical cord. Elizabeth, who'd been in the delivery room with her daughter the entire time, had cut the cord where the doctor had indicated. In a few moments, Emily had been handed her daughter.

Emily looked down at the perfect little angel in her arms and felt the tears well up in her eyes. She was overwhelmed by the fact that she had created this perfect human being. She felt the enormity of the situation settle onto her as she realized that from now on she would be responsible for her.

Elizabeth noticed the tears forming in Emily's eyes and she smiled, knowing that in this moment, her daughter was forever changed.

Dr. Rebecca Wingate glanced at her patient and smiled. **"Congratulations Emily, she's beautiful."**She was, of course, referring to the tiny pink bundle in the teenager's arms.

Emily looked up at her doctor and smiled, **"Thanks Rebecca, she is pretty perfect isn't she?"**

**"Yeah she is."** Rebecca looked from Elizabeth to Emily before she said, **"So, have you thought of a name for her yet?"**

Emily looked at her mother for a few moments then she said, **"yeah, um...I've been thinking about it a lot these last few weeks and, um...yeah I have a name for her."**

Elizabeth and Rebecca looked at each other then turned to Emily. The silence stretched out for a few moments before Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore.

**"Well, don't keep us in suspense honey. Tell me what my granddaughter's name is please?"**

Emily chucked at her mother's tone. She took a breath and said, **"Well, her name is Katherine Elizabeth Prentiss."**Emily paused a moment to let the name sink in.

Emily's own middle name was Elizabeth, she wanted a way to thank her mother for being so supportive of her during her pregnancy and this was the best way she knew how. Katherine was her grandmother's name and Emily had loved her so much.

Elizabeth felt the tears well up in her eyes as the implications of the name sank in. Emily had, in one move, honored both her mother and her grandmother. Elizabeth had loved her mother more than anything and her death had hit her hard.

Rebecca watched Elizabeth's reaction to the name and deduced that there was a significance to the name. She looked at Emily, **"that's a beautiful name Emily."**

Emily turned to her doctor, **"thank you."**

Rebecca then excused herself from the room, knowing that Emily and her mom needed a few moments together.

Elizabeth waited until the door closed behind the doctor before she walked up to the bed. Elizabeth placed one hand on Emily's shoulder as the other hand gently cradled her granddaughter's head. Emily looked up at her mother and smiled at the love she saw in her mother's eyes.

Elizabeth looked down at her granddaughter and said, in a gentle tone, **"Welcome to the world Katherine. You are a very lucky girl, you are already so loved."** Elizabeth turned to Emily, **"how are you feeling Emily?"**

Emily couldn't stop smiling. **"I'm a little sore but I'm hardly noticing it. I am just too happy right now mom. Thank you, again, for being so supportive."**

Elizabeth smiled down at her daughter and said, in a low voice filled with love, **"You never have to thank me for that Emily. I will always be here for you, no matter what. I love you."**

Emily reached up with her free hand and pulled her mother down for a brief hug before she pulled back and said, smiling, **"I love you too mom."** She paused a moment then said, **"I think it's time Katherine met her grandfather, don't you?"**

Elizabeth grinned, **"Yes...he's probably been crawling the walls. I'll go get him."**Elizabeth turned and left the room, looking for her husband.

Emily looked down at her daughter and smiled, **"Hey baby girl, are you ready to meet your grandpa?"**

The baby in her arms opened her eyes and looked at Emily. Her eyes were that grayish-blue that all newborns have, and eventually grow out of. Emily hoped she would keep her blue eyes but realistically, she knew it was more likely her daughter would grow up with the brown eyes that she herself had. Emily looked into her daughter's eyes and she felt a swell of love well up inside her. She knew without a doubt, that nothing and no one would ever be as important to her as her daughter. Emily made a silent vow right then, that she would do whatever she needed to do to make sure her daughter grew up happy and well loved.

A few minutes later, there was a light knock on the door followed by the door opening. Emily glanced to the door and saw her mother's head first as she walked into the room, followed closely by her father. Emily smiled at the look of joy and wonder on her father's face.

William Prentiss slowly approached the bed, his eyes glued to his granddaughter. She was so tiny, so perfect. William flashed back for a moment to the last time, almost 16 years ago, he saw such a tiny perfect baby. He stood next to Emily's bed and looked from the baby to his daughter. There were no words for how he was feeling. All he could do was smile down at Emily.

Emily looked up at her father and smiled, **"Hi daddy. Meet your granddaughter, Katherine Elizabeth."**

William leaned forward and placed a kiss on Emily's forehead then looked at Katherine. **"She's absolutely beautiful. She's..."** He turned to look into Emily's eyes, **"she's perfect Emily."**His voice was low and gentle so as not to startle the now dozing infant.

Emily lifted her free hand and placed it on her father's cheek, **"Thanks dad."**

He just smiled at his daughter, words failing him again.

Elizabeth watched them in silence, knowing they needed the moment. She knew they had a special bond, something that was deeper and more complex than the usual father-daughter bond.

Emily looked from her father to her mother then down to her daughter...this was her family. Emily knew in that moment that she would lay down her life for her daughter and she knew she wasn't alone in that sentiment.

TBC...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: the next chapter might take a while because I can't decide whether to detail Katherine's homecoming and the first few months or to skip ahead to the first birthday and flash back the first year. Any opinions?<strong>

**And for the record...JJ will make her appearance as she is destined to and not a moment sooner.  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

After she was released from the hospital, Emily, Katherine and her parents headed to their house in Atlantic City so they could begin to prepare for the move back to Wayne. They stayed in Atlantic City for a few days before they packed everything up and left early in the morning for Wayne.

The trip to Wayne was uneventful, Katherine slept the entire trip in her car seat with Emily right beside her. It didn't take them long to settle back into the Wayne house and Emily and her mom came up with a cover story to explain why they suddenly had a new baby in the house.

Emily returned to school and William would take care of Katherine during the day. Emily reconnected with Daphne and it was like she'd never left. When Daphne came by the house one day, Emily explained to her the cover story her mother had come up with, saying that Emily's mother was actually pregnant when they left for Italy. Katherine was born at the consulate in Rome, making her an American citizen.

From then on, Daphne went on believing that Katherine was Emily's sister.

Months flew by and Katherine grew into the cutest baby. Emily would come home from school, get her homework done then takeover for her father and take care of Katherine, whom they began calling Katie. Once Katie was down for the night, Emily would be free to watch television or even talk on the phone with Daphne for a few hours before she crashed for the night. Before too long, Emily and Katie developed a routine and there were occasions when Daphne would join them when they went out to the park on the weekends or even during the week when Daphne and Emily would hang out together.

* * *

><p>Emily's junior year flew by with little fanfare. Emily was too busy with Katie and being a mom to worry about trying to fit in with the popular crowd or even extra-curricular activities. She wasn't one to play sports even before she had Katie so it was no big loss to her that she couldn't play them now.<p>

Summer vacation was spent mostly with Katie, with Daphne occasionally tagging along, but just before school let out, Daphne started dating a boy on the baseball team and she spent most of her summer with him. Emily was a little sad at losing time with her best friend but she understood what it was like when there was a new relationship so she tried to be happy for Daphne.

It was near the end of August when her mom came into Emily's bedroom after dinner and said, **"Emily, honey, there's something I need to talk to you about."**

Emily put aside the book she was reading and gave her mom her full attention, thankful that Katie was already sleeping in her crib in her bedroom across the hall. **"Yeah mom?"**

Elizabeth sat down on the corner of Emily's bed and said, **"Well, Katie's first birthday is coming up soon and I was wondering how you wanted to celebrate it. We could have a party for her, with some of the diplomats I know and their children, or we can have a private celebration with just the family...and Daphne of course."**

Emily thought about that for a moment and decided that she didn't really want to have a big party with people and kids Katie didn't know. She didn't want to have to make her daughter dress up and be on her best behavior at her own birthday party. Emily decided that she would much rather have a private celebration with just her parents and Daphne. Something small and intimate that wouldn't require Katie to be anything other than exactly who she was. **"I think it might be best to have a private celebration. I don't think Katie's ready for a big party. Besides, she wouldn't even know what was going on, you know?"**

Elizabeth smiled, **"Yeah...I guess first birthday parties are more for the parents than the kids. Okay, we can have a small celebration. Maybe a simple dinner and cake, can't forget the cake."**

Emily chuckled, **"Oh yeah, can't forget the cake mom. Maybe have a small one just for Katie and another one for the grown-ups?"**

Emily knew her daughter was likely to forego the utensils and attack the cake, so she figured if she had her own it would be better than trying to stop her.

Elizabeth, also knowing her granddaughter very well, just grinned and nodded, **"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan."**

They shared a quiet laugh before Elizabeth excused herself to finish some paperwork. Emily watched her leave then went back to her book, smiling at the image of her daughter grinning, with cake all over her face.

* * *

><p>The day of Katie's birthday, Emily went to school as normal then came home and began preparing for the small party. It wasn't going to be much, just a nice dinner, some cake and then some time with Katie playing with her toys and just being the cutest one year old on the planet.<p>

By the time evening fell, everything was ready for the small celebration. The gifts had been stacked in a corner of the family room, waiting for Katie to rip them open (with some help from Emily of course), dinner was ready to be served and the only thing missing was Daphne who was running a bit late.

Emily had an idea that she wanted to run by her mom so she left Katie with her father and pulled her mother aside into the kitchen.

**"Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about and it has to happen before Daphne gets here."**

Elizabeth was confused but she was willing to listen, **"Ok, what did you want to talk about?"**

Emily paced a few steps before she forced herself to sit down across from her mother at the small breakfast table and she asked, **"What would you say if I told you I was thinking about telling Daphne the truth about Katie?"**

Elizabeth took a moment to process what Emily had just said, it didn't seem like she'd heard right.** "You want to tell Daphne the truth? That Katie is your daughter?"**

**"Yeah. I've thought about this a lot mom and it basically comes down to the fact that I don't like lying to my best friend."**Emily explained, knowing that it was the simplistic version of what was motivating her to come clean with her best friend.

Elizabeth thought about that for a moment and tried to think of all the possible consequences of what Emily wanted to do. She stood up from the table and walked to the fridge and took out a bottle of orange juice. She poured two glasses then sat down again at the table, offering one of the glasses to Emily. After a long sip, she looked up into dark eyes so much like her own and said, **"I understand that you don't like lying to Daphne. I, myself, am not comfortable with it because she is you best friend, but Emily have you thought this through? What if she doesn't react well and tells everyone at your school? It would defeat the purpose of all that we've done to keep the truth of Katie's origin a secret."**

Emily thought about what her mother was saying and she said, **"Daphne wouldn't do that. She wouldn't betray me like that mom."**

Elizabeth looked down into her juice for a moment then looked up and said, **"How about a compromise?"**

**"Like what?"**

**"I won't stand in your way of telling Daphne the truth, if you at least wait until after graduation to tell her."**Elizabeth figured that if Emily waited until she was out of high school, the damage wouldn't be as bad as if she told her now and had to go through her senior year with people whispering behind her back about her being a mom so young. The words 'slut' and 'whore' ran through Elizabeth's mind as she imagined the cruelty of teenagers who had nothing better to do than tear each other down.

Emily thought she knew why her mother was suggesting she wait until graduation and she had to admit that her mother had a point. If she waited until after graduation, and Daphne reacted badly, the time she would have to spend dealing with an angry Daphne wouldn't be long. College would make sure of that, especially if they ended up at different schools. Emily looked up at her mom and said, **"Ok, I'll wait."**

Elizabeth stood up from the table and pulled Emily to her feet and hugged her. She knew it wasn't fair on Emily to have to lie to her best friend about something so important but in the long run, it was what was best for everyone.

After a few minutes, they separated and Emily went upstairs to check on Katie while her mom sat back down at the table and let out a shaky breath. She allowed herself a moment of mental entropy before she pulled herself together. It was going to be a long night but it would be worth it to see Katie opening her gifts and smiling and happy. This was her first birthday and Elizabeth was determined to make it memorable.

* * *

><p>Dinner had gone smoothly with everyone just talking and enjoying themselves. They brought out the two cakes and sang 'Happy Birthday' to Katie, with Emily helping her to blow out the lone candle on the small cake. She tied a bib around Katie's neck and then stood back as Katie attacked the cake with both hands, just making a mess.<p>

Elizabeth then brought out the other cake and sliced it up for the others. Emily, William, Daphne and herself each got a piece of cake and enjoyed it as they watched Katie eating her cake and giggling. She had frosting all over her cheeks and even on her nose and her hands were a lost cause. No one minded though, because they knew it was better this way than to try to get Katie to eat with any sense of decorum. Besides that, it was her birthday and no one was going to tell her no today.

Once the cake was eaten and Katie was satisfied that there was nothing left on her plate, Emily took her into the bathroom and cleaned her up. She also changed her into her pajamas while she had the chance so that it would be easier later to put her to bed.

Daphne, William and Elizabeth had retired to the family room where Katie's gifts were waiting to be torn open. The adults had coffee while Daphne had opted for a glass of orange juice. They were watching MTV with the volume set low as they waited for Emily to return with Katie.

The video for the Jets' _Crush on You_ came on just as Daphne worked up the nerve to ask something that had been bugging her for a while now. **"Mrs. Prentiss, can I ask you something?"**

Elizabeth smiled at Daphne and said, **"Of course Daphne."**

Daphne took a breath, **"There's something I've been wondering about for a while now. I realize it's probably none of my business, but I was wondering why Emily is always the one who takes care of Katie. I mean, I know they're sisters and very close but, Emily is always taking care of Katie. Even now, she's the one cleaning her up when it seems like something you as her mother should be doing."**Daphne didn't mean to sound rude or anything but it bugged her that it seemed like Emily was sacrificing her teen years to be more of a mom to Katie than their own mother.

Elizabeth glanced at her husband for a moment then looked to Daphne. She had to make a real effort not to snap at the young girl, knowing that her questions came from a place of caring about Emily. The lie that rolled off her tongue was so smooth and flawless that she almost believed it herself, **"Daphne, there were complications with Katie's birth. I pushed a bit too hard and ruptured a blood vessel...down there...and it led to other complications which resulted in me being in a coma for a week after Katie was born. Emily stepped up and took care of Katie while my husband stayed by my side. Emily named Katie and took really good care of her. They bonded in a way that I can't explain,"** she paused for effect as she glanced at her husband again. To the outside observer, it would seem like she was looking at him for emotional support and then she looked back at Daphne, **"but I would never do anything to come between them. So yes, Emily takes care of Katie probably more than most sisters would but that's to be expected after what happened."**

Daphne took a moment to process it all and then she felt a tear slide down her cheek when it hit her how close Emily had probably come to losing her mother. **"I am so sorry I asked Mrs. Prentiss. I didn't mean to bring up a bad memory."**

**"It's alright Daphne, you were curious and like I said, I know that to someone who doesn't know the truth, it might seem strange how much Emily takes care of Katie."**Elizabeth said, silently hoping Daphne bought it and dropped the subject. Daphne sensed the topic was closed so she just smiled and nodded then turned back to the tv, which was now playing a Madonna video.

After a few moments, Emily walked into the family room with Katie and smiled as she set her daughter down in front of the pile of gifts. She whispered into the one-year-old's ear, **"Hey baby girl, these are all yours. Have fun."**With that, she stood back as she watched her daughter first look around at the grown-ups around her then back to the gifts. She then looked at Emily and pointed to the gifts.

Emily knew what Katie was trying to ask and she just nodded, **"Yup. Go ahead."**She motioned with her hands to the gifts and waited.

Katie heard the voice, not totally understanding the words but knowing from her mom's face and smile that it was ok, and she saw the hand motion and she grinned before she turned back to the pile and leaned forward. She landed on her hands and crawled to the closest brightly wrapped box. She grabbed it then sat back and stared at it. She turned it over in her hands, as if she was studying it, then she found a fold in the paper and she grinned again as she slipped a small, slender finger into the fold and began to pull.

For the next half hour, Katie gave each gift a similar treatment, opening each one on her own as the grown-ups watched from the couch, smiling at the precocious little girl. One by one, Katie uncovered toys, a book and two outfits.

By the time she was finished, she was laughing and happy but she was also yawning a bit. Emily knew it was time to put Katie down for the night so she turned to Daphne, **"Hey, it's Katie's bedtime. Can you wait for me while I put her down?"**

Before Daphne could answer, Elizabeth stepped in, **"Actually, Emily, why don't I put Katie down while you and Daphne hang out a bit?"**

**"Are you sure mom?"**Emily asked, wondering what her mom was up to.

Elizabeth just smiled, **"Absolutely. Go on, we'll be fine."**

**"Ok."** She turned to Daphne, **"Come on, let's go."**She grabbed Daphne's hand and pulled her out the back door onto the deck then led her down the steps into the yard and over to the small gazebo in the far corner of the yard. She stepped into the small building, pulling Daphne in behind her and they sat down on the benches.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Daphne asked, **"So, why are we out here?"**

Luckily, it was still warm enough outside that they didn't need coats and could sit outdoors like this. Emily shrugged, **"I dunno. It was the first place I could think of to go when my mom gave me the night off."**She chuckled at her words, as if taking care of Katie was a job or something.

Daphne nodded as if to say 'I see' and then she smiled. ** "Well...I guess you could've come up with worse places. At least it's a nice night."**

**"Yeah."**Emily looked up at the sky from one of the side panels and smiled at all the stars she could see. She was silent as she studied the night sky and began to silently identify the constellations. It was something she'd picked up when she was a child. Her father had taught her how to recognize the constellations as a way of helping her with her homesickness. Every time her mom got a new assignment and they moved to a new country, Emily and her father would spend the first night looking at the skies, finding the constellations. He explained to her that these same stars she was looking at in this foreign country were the same stars that were shining down on her grandmother here in Wayne.

After her grandmother had passed away, the stars held a new comfort, they were the same stars that her grandmother now hid behind in heaven. For as long as she could remember, the stars always held a comfort and security for Emily.

Daphne let her best friend study the stars while she studied her best friend. Sometime in the six months that Emily was away in Italy, Daphne had begun to realize that she felt more for her dark haired friend than simple, platonic friendship. She had fought it for a long time but when Emily came back and they spent time together, it became too strong to ignore. Daphne had finally accepted that she was in love with her best friend...and it had scared the hell out of her.

She knew there was no way Emily would ever feel the same and she didn't want to risk their friendship over it so she pushed her feelings down and went looking for someone to take her mind off of it. What she found was a cute baseball player on the school's team. It was easy for Daphne to play the role she'd assigned herself, not even feeling the least bit guilty about using the poor boy as a distraction.

It was working out great until she realized that she would rather be alone than continue the charade...especially after he had started bringing up sex. Daphne wasn't about to sleep with him and she knew that her only choice was to break up with him. She had done that about a week ago but she hadn't told Emily yet.

Looking at Emily now, Daphne felt her heart constrict a bit at the thought of losing her best friend because she had fallen for her. Finally the silence became too much and she said, **"So...senior year is finally here...should be great huh?"**

Emily turned to look at her best friend and smiled, **"Yeah, I guess. I mean, so far it's the same as Junior year."**

Daphne grinned, **"Yeah but it's only September. Your birthday is next month, plus there's the prom and senior week and...graduation. I think you need to come out of your shell a bit there Em. Maybe even get a boyfriend this year?"**Despite her feelings, Daphne knew she'd never stand in the way if Emily found a boy she liked enough to date.

Emily frowned at the thought of dating anyone. She wasn't ready for that...especially since anyone she dated would have to be kept in the dark about the truth about Katie. It was bad enough she was lying to her best friend, she didn't want to have to lie to anyone else. **"Somehow I doubt I'll be dating anyone anytime soon."**

Despite the brief surge of joy those words produced, Daphne still had to ask, **"Why not? You're cute and there are a lot of guys at school who would love to go out with you."**

Emily just shook her head, **"I'm just not interested in dating anyone. Besides, none of the guys at school really catch my attention anyway. I'd rather focus on my grades...and Katie."**

Daphne frowned, **"Ok, the grades I can understand but Emily, you have to live your own life and leave you sister to your mom's care. She's not your responsibility, and when you go off to college next year, it'll be easier on everyone if Katie is already used to you not being around."**

Emily knew that, if Katie really was her sister and not her daughter, Daphne's words would make sense, but knowing that Katie _was_ her responsibility and that she couldn't just pawn the little girl off on her parents, made it harder to hear what Daphne was saying. **"I hear what you're saying Daph, but it's...complicated. Katie needs me and that's why I am most likely going to stay in New Jersey for college, so I can be around for her."** She shrugged as if she was helpless to change the situation, **"It's the right thing to do."**

Daphne was about to argue but she knew from the look in Emily's eyes that it would be pointless. So she simply sighed and looked up at the sky, **"So, remind me again which one is the Big Dipper?"**

Emily relaxed as it seemed that Daphne wasn't going to pursue this topic. She leaned closer and began to point out all the constellations they could see and she even gave brief but detailed histories on how they got their names.

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><p>By the time Daphne went home, things were back to normal between them. Katie was asleep and Emily checked in on her before she said good night to her parents and went to her room to read for a bit before bed. It had been a good day for Emily, seeing her daughter turn one had a profound effect on the teenager and before she turned the light out to go to bed, she reached over and picked up the rosary that Matt had given her before she'd left Italy.<p>

Matt was a devout Catholic, and finding out he was gay had shaken his faith for a long time, but he seemed to be coming to terms with it when Emily left Italy. He had given her the rosary as a keepsake to remember him by. Emily stroked the cross as she thought about her current situation. She silently thanked whoever might be listening for Katie, knowing that despite how she came into the world, Emily wouldn't change a thing if it meant she couldn't have her daughter. That night, Emily fell asleep with a smile on her face as she thought about the other milestones in Katie's life that she would be there to see and celebrate.

TBC...

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry this took so long to get up but I wanted to get it just right. Hope I didn't disappoint y'all! I have also been just so happy that Emily and JJ are back on Criminal Minds that it's been making me a little anxious to speed things up to where JJ comes into Emily's life but I know I can't...it wouldn't be fair. So stick with me and I will eventually get there! Until then, enjoy the upcoming chapters.<strong>


	7. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry for the very long wait. Life and other things got in my way. I wanted to remind readers that these chapters are set in 1988 and that some things that were around then, may not be around today. I tried to stay as true to the time as I could. Having said that, please try to ignore any errors I might have made in regard to the things of the 80's in general and 1988 specifically. However if you find any really big ones, let me know and I'll address them accordingly. Enjoy the story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6 <strong>

_December 1988_

The weeks following Katie's birthday flew by in a flurry of activity. Emily's birthday in October had come and gone with very little fanfare. She didn't mind though, she was only turning 17 and she was more excited over Katie's first birthday than her own. Her parents had surprised her with a car for her birthday, complete with car seat and fully insured.

Daphne had refused to let the day pass without celebrating at least a little, so she took Emily out for a movie and then bought her a cupcake at a local bakery to mark the occasion. She'd even brought along a candle and lit it so Emily could make her birthday wish.

It had been a good time, and Emily was glad that her parents had insisted on babysitting Katie so Emily could celebrate her birthday.

For Halloween, Emily dressed Katie in a bumblebee outfit and spent the night at home, handing out candy and watching television. Daphne had come over, dressed as a sexy nurse, and together they had a good time passing out candy and watching TV and playing with Katie.

Emily's parents had dressed up as Bonnie & Clyde and gone to a Halloween party in the City that was being hosted by one of her mom's bosses. It was mandatory attendance so they didn't have much of a choice, however William insisted that if they had to get dressed up, they might as well go as something fun. Elizabeth had given in after a token objection.

Thanksgiving was a fairly quiet event. Elizabeth had pre-ordered dinner, turkey with all the trimmings from a local catering company because she was going to be working the whole day and wouldn't have time to cook the meal.

Emily and Katie camped out in the family room to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. Katie was mesmerized by the big balloons and the performances, and Emily was just content to watch her daughter enjoy the parade.

They sat down to dinner around six o'clock then went back into the family room and watched Christmas movies to avoid the football games. William had even taken the day off from his writing to enjoy the time with his daughter and granddaughter. That had been over a week ago. It was December now and Emily had less than a week to plan what to do for Daphne on her birthday. Emily had already arranged for her parents to watch Katie so that she could do something special for her best friend, she just needed to figure out what she was going to do.

She didn't want to just take her to a movie, it would just be like she was copying what Daphne did for her...no, she wanted something original.

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><p><em>Wednesday, December 7, 1988<em>

The day started off normal enough for Daphne Morris. It was her birthday today and her parents had already wished her a happy birthday and given her, her gifts. Her mom had bought her a new Walkman and a few cassettes for it while her father had gotten her three new movies for the VCR in her bedroom.

After that, she'd taken a quick shower before getting ready for school. She walked out of her house at 7:30 on the dot and smiled at the now familiar sight of Emily sitting in her car waiting for her. Ever since Emily's birthday, Daphne could count on seeing Emily waiting for her to drive to school together. Before Emily got her own car, Daphne's mom would pick Emily up and drive them both to school.

Daphne walked to the car and smiled as she got in and buckled her seat belt, **"Hi Em!"**

Emily grinned at her best friend, **"Hi Daph! Happy birthday!"**

**"Thanks."** Emily handed her a thin box wrapped with purple paper.

As Daphne opened the gift, Emily began driving. Daphne was so focused on opening her gift, she didn't notice that Emily was going the wrong way.

Emily drove silently as she waited for Daphne to notice they weren't going to school. She had a full, fun day planned and she just hoped Daphne liked her birthday surprises.

Daphne finished opening the box that Emily had given her and she was surprised, and a little confused, when she saw what was inside. It was a pair of the softest black leather gloves. Daphne took the gloves out of the box and turned them over in her hand. They were absolutely beautiful. Daphne looked up and was about to look at Emily when she realized they weren't on the right road to school...in fact, they were about to get on the highway. The gloves forgotten, Daphne turned to Emily and asked, **"Um, Emily? Why are we getting on the highway? School is back that way."** The blonde pointed behind them with a grin on her face.

Emily merged onto the highway then glanced quickly at her best friend before turning her eyes back to the road. **"I know where school is...but we're skipping school today."**

**"We are? Why?"**

Emily grinned, **"It's your birthday Daph, and the rest is a surprise."**

Daphne shrugged her shoulders and decided to just go with the flow. She'd found out a while ago that it was fairly pointless to argue with her best friend. Besides, ever since she'd accepted that she was in love with Emily, she'd found it very difficult to say no to the dark-haired girl.

Emily saw the shrugging shoulders out of the corner of her eye and grinned again, knowing that she had won this round. She drove confidently towards Manhattan, already thinking of the day she had planned.

Daphne turned to look at her best friend and finally thought to ask, **"Um, Emily? Not that I don't love them and think they are just gorgeous, but...why gloves?"** Daphne already had a pair of gloves, granted they weren't leather and didn't have fleece lining but they did the job.

Emily kept her gaze on the road as she answered, **"I saw them and wanted you to have them...plus, they're part of your birthday surprise."** Emily shut up then, knowing that if she said anymore she would give the whole thing away.

Now the blonde was intrigued, her brain started racing through the possibilities of what her surprise could be that it involved leather gloves.

Silence settled in the car as Daphne's brain tried to figure out what Emily had in store for her. Emily, for her part, was hoping that Daphne would like her surprise. It had taken her a while to come up with the perfect way to celebrate Daphne's birthday and she only hoped that her friend liked her surprise.

Emily drove into the city and found a parking garage. She parked the car and then led her friend out onto the city street. They paused for a moment, just taking in the atmosphere of New York City. Daphne turned to Emily and, smiling, asked, **"So, what's first on the agenda?"**

**"Agenda?"**

**"Oh, come on Em, I know you and I know that you wouldn't have brought us to the city, on a school day, if you didn't have a plan for the day. So, what's first?"** Daphne asked, chuckling.

Emily sighed, smiling as she gave up and said, **"Ok, there is a...flexible plan. Just trust me ok?"**

Daphne grinned, **"Okay, I'll trust you. Where to first?"**

**"First, is caffeine and some breakfast, sound good?"**

Daphne looked around then back to Emily, **"Sounds perfect. Lead the way."**

Emily looped her arm through the blonde's and led her down the street towards the small diner that she remembered from her last trip to the City with her parents.

Daphne followed Emily down the street, placing herself in her best friend's hands, trusting her completely.

* * *

><p>The morning passed by fairly quickly for them as they had breakfast at the small diner. They left the diner and began walking around the city just taking in all the sights. Daphne kept trying to get Emily to tell her what the big surprise was, but Emily would only smile and say that it wouldn't be a surprise if she told her.<p>

Daphne's surprise turned out to be ice skating at Rockefeller Center. The two girls rented skates and spent close to two hours on the ice. Daphne needed some help at first and Daphne's new gloves came in handy to keep her hands warm as she fell a few times on the ice but she soon got the hang of it. Emily skated around her like an Olympic pro. She had taken lessons when she was younger and her mother was posted in Switzerland but when they had moved, the lessons had sadly ended. Still, she remembered enough to make it look like she was better than she really was.

After the ice skating, Emily and Daphne walked towards Broadway, drinking hot chocolate to warm up. Daphne turned to Emily, **"Ok, the ice skating was great, it was so much fun! But shouldn't we be getting back home?"** It was already three in the afternoon and she was worried her parents would be upset when they found out that she had ditched school.

Emily smiled at her friend as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. **"Relax Daphne, there's one last stop before we head home." **

Emily didn't want to tell the blonde that she had already cleared this birthday field trip with Daphne's parents unless she had no other choice. She had talked to them a few days ago and explained what she wanted to do for the day and they had agreed to let it happen. They were willing to let Daphne miss one day of school if it meant she had a great birthday. Emily wasn't worried about Daphne's parents and her own had already agreed to watch Katie for the whole day. If only for one day, Emily was determined to be like any other girl her age, carefree and happy.

Daphne, not knowing her parents were in on it with Emily, frowned and said, **"Em, I love that we're in New York and I get that you want this to be a great day, and it is, but when my parents find out I ditched school they're going to kill me!"**

Emily sighed and she moved closer to her friend, **"No, they won't. They already know, they gave me permission to 'kidnap' you for your birthday and show you a great time. So relax and just enjoy the day, okay?"**

Though the news that her parents had approved of this field trip was a bit of a surprise, she decided to go with it and face the consequences later. **"Okay. Where are we off to now?"**

They had reached Broadway by then and Emily took a moment to look around before she spotted their destination. She grinned and began to lead Daphne towards it.

Emily stopped in front of the Winter Garden Theater and directed Daphne to look up at the marquee. The blonde looked up and she saw the big poster/sign for the musical _Cats_. She turned to look at Emily, **"Are you serious?"**

Emily grinned and nodded, **"Yup. You told me you wanted to see this one day well...today's the day. Come on."** She motioned for her to follow her to the box office.

The guy at the window looked up at the pretty young girl who stepped up to his window. He smiled at her, **"May I help you?"**

Emily smiled her most charming smile, knowing that sometimes it was easier to deal with smarmy guys with a smile than with sarcasm, even if they did have nice British accents. **"Yes, I have two tickets on hold, under the name Prentiss."**

The guy's grin widened a bit then he turned away to look in the box of reserved tickets. This girl was really very pretty, and if she had tickets to the show, it meant she had or came from money. If he played his cards right, he might be able to score a date with her. He loved dating rich girls, they were always looking for someone to bring home to piss off mommy and daddy and he was very willing and able to play that role...especially when it resulted in money from the rich parents to 'stay away from their daughter'.

He found the tickets and turned back to the girl, still smiling. He wanted to charm the girl, his window of opportunity was growing smaller, **"Here they are. I hope you enjoy the show Miss."** It never took him much to get a girl interested and he was certain this girl would be no different.

Emily smiled at the guy, she knew he was trying to get her attention but she wasn't interested so she just took the tickets and thanked the guy. She turned away and walked back to Daphne. She held up the tickets, **"We're all set, let's go inside."**

Daphne smiled then hooked her arm through Emily's and followed her inside.

Mick Rawson watched as the pretty girl walked into the theater with her equally hot friend and he smiled, thinking that it would be very hot to have a threesome with the both of them. He shook his head ruefully as he was pulled from his fantasy by another customer.

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><p>It was close to 7 o'clock when Emily pulled the car to a stop in front of Daphne's house. The show had been great and afterwards, they had gone to dinner at small diner near the theater. Emily had wanted to take Daphne to a nice fancy restaurant but the blonde had insisted that she preferred a diner instead.<p>

Emily turned to look at her best friend, **"So...good birthday?"**

Daphne grinned at Emily and said, **"best birthday ever. Thank you so much for today Emily."**

Emily smiled at her friend and said, **"You don't have to thank me Daphne. I wanted to give you a great birthday...that's what best friends do, right?"**

Daphne nodded, knowing that for her it was more than just a great day with her best friend. Thanks to her recently discovered feelings for her dark haired companion, Daphne secretly considered today to be almost like their first date.

After a few more minutes, they said good night and Daphne got out of the car and walked towards her front door. Emily watched her go, torn between walking her to her door and simply watching her walk. Soon though, it was taken out of her hands when her friend reached her door and slipped inside the house with a final wave.

Emily waited a few more moments before she shifted the car into drive and pulled away from the curb. As she drove home, Emily let herself think back on their day together and she found herself smiling at the memory.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it but something had happened today. Something had...shifted inside of her as the day wore on and she knew that she wasn't the same person that she was when she woke up this morning. Something had clicked inside of her and, until she figured out what that something was, she knew it would bug the crap out of her. She only hoped she figured it out fast, before her frustration caused her to lash out at someone.

TBC...

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><p><strong>AN2: Ok, so...a few things to address... first and foremost, Cats was near the start of its American run on Broadway by the time I brought Emily and Daphne to see it. It was still new and fresh and hadn't been over hyped or legendary quite yet but <strong>it had a pretty good buzz going.<strong> Secondly, I threw in Mick Rawson because I wanted someone kinda familiar but also because I just saw the episode where JJ is trying to get Emily to go out with him and she's like, he's not my type and maybe I should get a cat...lol I just love that scene. In my mind, he was in NY on a student visa going to school at NYU or something and working part time at the theater to make extra money. **

**Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to write and post.  
><strong>


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

_Christmas 1988_

In the weeks that followed her friend's birthday, Emily had been slowly realizing that what had shifted inside of her that day was something she had no real frame of reference for...she was developing feelings for her best friend that she could only classify as more than friendly.

There had been moments when she caught herself wondering what it would be like to kiss Daphne, to run her hands through her long blonde hair. When her thoughts turned in that direction, she quickly shook it off and focused on something elseﾗanything else to keep her imagination from going down that road.

It didn't help matters that, as best friends, they hung out every day after school and they even had a few classes together. The moments when Emily would fantasize about her best friend were becoming more frequent and she was having a much harder time just shaking them off.

In light of these new feelings, Emily was even more concerned over what to get her best friend. What was okay anymore? What was too personal, too impersonal, what would be considered too much or not enough? She was stressing out over what to get Daphne that the blonde would love but that wouldn't give her cause to think Emily felt more than just friendship?

Now, she only had a week left to get something before it was too late. Idly, Emily wondered what Daphne would get her this year.

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><p>What Emily didn't know was that Daphne was going through a similar struggle as she browsed the stores in the local mall. She had narrowed it down somewhat but she was still struggling to get something that was suitable between friends and not something you'd get someone you're dating. It wasn't until she took a right and walked down one of the hallways in the mall that she spotted a store she hadn't ever seen before. Curious, the blonde walked into the store and started looking around. Near the back of the store, in an ordinary looking display case, she found exactly what she was looking for...the perfect gift. She caught the sales lady's attention and within minutes she walked out of the store with the gift in a bag. Now, she just had to get something cute for Katie and she'd be all set.<p>

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><p>William Prentiss could tell there was something bothering Emily. His little girl, which Emily would always be no matter how old she got or how many children she had, could usually hide her emotions from the rest of the world, but she'd never been able to hide them from him. They were too close for that, their bond had grown and strengthened over the years as they were always the ones who were left alone together as his wife did her job in her foreign postings. That was not to say that his wife had ever ignored or neglected them, but she had more important things to attend to than the everyday details of life outside the diplomatic circle.<p>

William understood completely that his wife was doing important work and he fully supported her, doing his part to make sure their personal life, their family, was tended to and safe. He knew Elizabeth loved them both more than anything else, and her reaction when Emily had told her she was pregnant was further proof that his wife had her priorities straight.

Despite all that, however, he knew that Emily was closer to him than her mother and so, where Elizabeth might not have noticed the emotional turmoil Emily was going through, he certainly had.

When Emily returned home from Katie's latest appointment with Doctor Wingate for a routine check up, William decided it was time to confront his daughter about what was bothering her. He couldn't stand to see her sad anymore. He waited until Emily put Katie down for her afternoon nap, then he knocked on her bedroom door.

Emily looked up from the book she was reading when she heard a knock on her door. Since her father was the only one home with her she smiled and said, **"Come on in dad."**

William walked into Emily's room and smiled at his little girl. **"Hey Kitten, how did it go at Doctor Wingate's?"** He decided to start small, work his way up to asking the big questions.

Emily grinned, **"it went as well as can be expected."**

**"What do you mean by that?"** He grew concerned that maybe something was wrong with his granddaughter. Without thinking about it, his head turned in the direction of the bedroom where Katie lay sleeping then turned back to Emily.

Emily realized how she sounded and was quick to reassure her father, **"Don't worry dad, Katie is fine. Clean bill of health...it's just that, she got some of her shots today and I just hate it when she hurts. I know it's important to give her the shots I just...don't like it when she's hurting."**

William nodded, remembering quite well when Emily was Katie's age and he had to stand by and watch her get jabbed with needles for her immunizations. For Emily it had been a bit worse, since sometimes when his wife got a new posting, they would need to get immunization shots before they could fly with her to the new country. He hated seeing his little girl cry over the shots so he could sympathize with what Emily was going through now. **"I remember that feeling. The only time I ever resented your mother's career was when one of her postings required extra shots for both of us. No parent likes to see their child in pain. Luckily, the pain fades and before you know it, she's smiling again."**

**"Yeah...that is a plus. She's sleeping it off right now."** Emily paused a moment then asked, **"So, what have you been doing all day?"**

William chuckled as he took a seat on the corner of the bed. **"Oh, you know me...working on the new book. Taking advantage of the silence to get some work done."**

**"Good. I can't wait to read the next installment of the adventures of Alex Nightwolf, private detective to the stars."** Emily loved her father's books. Crime novels based on a character he created called Alex Nightwolf, half Native American, half English private detective who specialized in celebrity cases. This would be the third in the series so far and the first two books had been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for several months.

**"Yeah, you and the rest of the country."** William grinned, loving that Emily was his number one fan. They were both quiet for a moment before William decided it was time to just ask Emily what he had come there to ask. **"Em, you know that if there's anything you want or need to talk about, I'm always here for you, right?"**

The change in topic surprised Emily but she was able to reply, **"Of course daddy. I know I can always come to you with anything. Why would you ask that?"**

William looked away for a moment before he took a breath and then looked at Emily again, **"Lately, I've sensed that something was bothering you. Something more than the usual teenage stuff. So...if there's anything you wanted to talk about with me...I'm right here, okay?"**

Emily took a moment to think about what her father was saying. A part of her wanted to tell him everything about the feelings she'd been having about Daphne, maybe get some advice or even just have someone to confide in...but the rest of her was scared that if she said it out loud, it would become real and there would be no going back. Emily wasn't ready to take that step...she also wasn't ready for the possibility that her developing feelings might ruin her relationship with her dad.

So she settled for smiling and saying, **"it's nothing I can't handle daddy. I promise."**

William knew there was more to it but he also knew that Emily would come to him when she was ready and not a moment sooner. He sighed then said, **"Ok kitten."** Sensing that was all he was going to get for now, he stood up, **"Well, I should get back to work. But, why don't you come down stairs and keep me company? Maybe watch some TV, take advantage of Katie's nap and just relax?"**

Emily thought about that and said, **"That sounds like a good idea. I'll be down in a few minutes, I just want to check on Katie first."**

**"Ok, see you downstairs."** William left the room and went back downstairs to the desk he'd set up with typewriter.

Emily watched him leave then got up and went to check on Katie, who was still sleeping soundly, before she went downstairs to the family room and turned on the TV. MTV News was on and Emily settled in to watch it.

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><p><em>Three days before Christmas<em>

Emily hung up the phone with a smile and then walked over to where her father was sitting watching Katie play in the family room. She hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek. **"Thank you so much dad!"**

William Prentiss smiled and patted the arm that was around his shoulders. **"You're welcome. I take it the 'mission' was a success?"**

**"Yup...it's all set. Thanks to you and Mr. Nightwolf."** Emily chuckled as she came around the couch and sat down next to her father. Her eyes strayed to her daughter playing with her alphabet blocks, building towers then knocking them down and laughing her butt off at the results. She looked back to her father. **"All it took was your credit card and an avid Nightwolf fan and those tickets were mine."**

**"Well, I'm happy to help."** William smiled, glad to know that he was able to help Emily with her problem.

Emily sat on the couch with her dad, thinking about what she had to do now that the first step was taken. After weeks of wondering what to get Daphne for Christmas, she was watching MTV News and heard that Daphne's favorite band was playing in New York in March of next year. It took some doing, mostly explaining to her father why she wanted the tickets, which were insanely expensive, and how she was going to pay him back.

Now that she had the tickets secured and waiting for her at the box office, she just had to go and pick them up. Her next step after that, she knew, was going to be getting Daphne's parents to agree to let them go to the concert as well as getting her own parents' permission and babysitting services. But she knew her parents would let her go as long as she kept her grades up.

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><p><em>Christmas Morning 1988<em>

Emily was relaxing on the sofa enjoying a glass of orange juice as she watched Katie playing with the new toys she just opened. Emily smiled at her daughter's antics. Her dad was in the kitchen making breakfast while her mom was getting dressed.

Daphne was due to arrive before noon, after she'd spent the morning with her parents, so that she and Emily could exchange gifts. Emily glanced at the clock on the wall and smiled when she saw it was already 11am. She glanced down to the small box sitting next to her on the sofa, it was Daphne's gift and she really hoped her friend liked it. Emily had already gotten permission from the blonde's parents to take her to the concert, as long as Daphne's grade didn't fall between now and March. Emily's parents had said much the same, wanting to make it clear that grades came before concerts.

It was a condition that Emily was confident she and Daphne could meet, they were both A and B students. Emily knew that, if she wanted to get into a good college and have a shot at making a good life for herself and her daughter, she needed to keep her grades up and focus on her education. She didn't want to always have to rely on her parents to support her and Katie. She wanted to be able to be independent and take care of her daughter on her own.

Emily watched as Katie began to ignore the new kitchen playset she'd gotten from her grandpa in favor of the box that it came in and she grinned. Katie had the box on its side and she'd crawled inside. It was a big enough box that she was able to sit up inside of it and she looked out at her mom on the couch and just giggled. Katie's laughter was contagious and Emily found herself laughing along.

Emily got down off the couch and crawled over to her daughter, laughing the whole time. When she reached her, Emily lowered herself to the floor and lay there, supported by her forearms and looked at her daughter. **"Whatcha doing baby girl?"**

Katie looked at her mom for a moment, as if thinking about the question, before she grinned a big grin and said, **"Play!"** Her arms gestured wildly at the box she was in.

Emily edged closer, **"Can mama play?"** Emily pointed to herself when she said mama, her way of helping Katie learn who her mama was, so she wouldn't get confused later in life.

Katie saw the gesture and began nodding, **"Mama play! Mama play!"** The little girl began to lean forward and reach out for her mama.

Emily moved into her reach and waited as Katie's little hands grabbed the cloth of her shirt and tried to pull her closer. It soon became clear that Katie wanted Emily to join her inside the box. Emily was only able to get her head and shoulders inside the box and she stopped and grinned at Katie. **"Mama's too big, baby girl."**

Katie's face became serious as she studied Emily's position. She moved her head around a bit to look from every angle before she sat back and looked at her mama's face. After a moment, she put her hands on Emily's forehead and began to push. **"Out! Big! Out mama!"**

Emily took the hint and pulled out of the box and watched as Katie followed her out. She carefully stood up and walked to the side of the box. She stood there for a moment then began kicking the box. After a few kicks, she turned to Emily and smiled, **"bad."** She pointed to the box when she said that then she moved closer to Emily. She squatted down to Emily's level and put her hands on her mama's cheeks and said, with a smile, **"Mama love me?"**

Emily couldn't help herself, she reached out and grabbed her daughter and pulled her into a hug. She shifted onto her back and placed Katie on her belly. She smiled up at her daughter and said, **"Yes Katie, mama loves you very much!"**

Katie leaned forward and fell onto her mom and hugged her neck. They stayed like that for a few moments, neither one willing to move just enjoying the moment.

William was standing in the doorway watching them, smiling. It was so heartwarming to see them like this. He could remember, back when Emily was Katie's age, watching his wife and daughter in a similar situation. Before she had gotten her first overseas assignment, back when Elizabeth was still an attach?and not a full Ambassador, he had been witness to many moments like this with them. Now, seeing Emily like this, he hoped that whatever she chose to do with her life, she would never lose the closeness she had with Katie now.

After a moment, he felt someone walk up behind him. He turned slightly and saw his wife behind him. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He placed a sweet kiss on her lips before turning back to his daughter and granddaughter.

Elizabeth followed his gaze and smiled, her memory easily calling up a time when she used to play like that with Emily. Over the years, she had often longed to find a way to reconnect with Emily like they used to be, before she'd become an Ambassador and started putting the job first. When Emily had told her that she was pregnant, Elizabeth had realized that this was the chance she'd been waiting for, a way to show Emily that she could put her family first before her job, her political future and maybe even find a way to reconnect with Emily.

Elizabeth's unwavering support of her daughter from the moment she'd found out about the pregnancy wasn't that hard. She loved her daughter and, while she'd hoped that Emily would be older when she became a mom, she wouldn't change a thing if it meant that Katie wouldn't be in their lives. Elizabeth looked at her granddaughter and couldn't help the smile that came to her face.

Katie, seeming to sense she was being watched, lifted up off of Emily and looked up. She saw her nana and papa and smiled. **"Nana! Papa! Play!"** She lifted her arms in her own version of beckoning them closer to play with her and Emily.

Emily twisted her head and saw her parents standing in the doorway and grinned, **"Yeah, come play with us!"**

Emily knew her dad would join them but couldn't picture her mom getting down on the floor and playing with them, it would mess up her outfit, her makeup, her image of the always together Ambassador. So she was pleasantly surprised and pleased when both of her parents came closer and got down on the floor to play with Katie.

Katie, seeing two new grown-ups to bounce on and around, shifted off of Emily and began to crawl to the closest adult, her nana, and began climbing atop her. When she was securely seated on her belly, she looked down at her nana and laughed as she began using her belly as a drum.

Emily and William looked on, giggling as Katie began to tap out a drum solo on Elizabeth's belly, and the best part was that Elizabeth was letting her, even playing along and tapping out a matching rhythm on the carpet beneath her.

Emily was about to crawl over to them and join the impromptu band when she heard the doorbell ring. She glanced at her father and then got up. **"I'll get it, it's probably Daphne."**

William just nodded before he moved closer to his wife and granddaughter to join in the fun.

Emily got to the front door and opened it, smiling when she saw her best friend standing there smiling. **"Hey Daphne! Merry Christmas! Come on in."**

Emily stood back to let the cute blonde walk past her into the house.

Daphne smiled as she walked in and then pulled Emily into a one armed hug as she said, **"Merry Christmas Emily!"**

When the girls separated, Emily noticed that Daphne was carrying a big shopping bag filled with wrapped boxes. Emily gestured towards the family room where the tree and her family was, letting Daphne lead the way as she closed the door and locked it again.

Daphne walked into the family room and was charmed by the sight of Emily's parents on the carpeted floor playing with Katie.

Being an only child, Daphne never had the benefit of siblings or of watching her parents turn into children themselves around any small babies, so to see Emily's parents doing it was charming. Especially considering how aloof and put together Emily's mom always seemed, this was a nice change.

Emily walked up next to her best friend and just grinned at the sight of her parents playing with Katie. To anyone else, it looked like two parents playing with their young child, but Emily knew it was deeper than that...this was two grandparents playing with their only grandchild. Somehow it made it more...significant to Emily.

After a few moments of watching the floor show, Emily was about to say something to draw attention to themselves when Katie chose that moment to look up and smile at her. She held her arms out to Emily and said in a loud voice, **"Mama! Up!"**

Emily felt herself begin to blush as she walked closer to Katie to pick her up, hoping Daphne wouldn't ask why Katie was calling her mama.

Daphne watched the moment with a small grin on her face. Given what Emily's mom had told her on Katie's birthday about the bond between Katie and Emily, Daphne wasn't too surprised that Katie would occasionally slip and call Emily mama. She thought it was cute actually, and a part of her couldn't help but imagine life ten or fifteen years down the line, when she finally confessed her feelings for Emily and they ended up with a baby of their own who would call Emily mama. She knew it was a fantasy that might never happen, but it didn't stop her imagination from going there and picturing the two of them as parents to a little girl or boy.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, after late lunch, Emily put Katie down for a nap then walked back into the family room where Daphne was sitting with her parents just talking. Emily walked over and sat next to Daphne on the sofa, not too close but not too far away either.<p>

She picked up the small box that she'd hidden under the tree after Katie had distracted Daphne and then turned to her best friend. **"This is for you."**

Daphne took the small box and smiled as she opened it. She lifted the lid after removing the wrapping paper and was surprised at what she saw inside; two tickets to see her favorite band, _Joan Jett & the Blackhearts_ in March in New York. She looked up at Emily, **"How? I didn't even know they were going to be in New York! How did you get tickets so fast?"**

Emily shrugged and said, **"Let's just say I have connections."** She glanced at her dad and he winked, willing to remain the silent partner in this moment.

Daphne didn't know what to say so she leaned forward and engulfed Emily in a huge hug. Emily returned the hug, smiling, happy that Daphne liked her gift.

After a few moments, Daphne pulled back smiling. Then she reached into the bag she'd brought with her to pull out the only remaining gift. She'd already given Katie her gift, a fun educational toy she could make plenty of noise with, Emily's mom got a gift certificate to a local spa and her dad got a stainless steel grill masters gift set for when he started grilling again in the summer. Daphne handed Emily a smaller box and said, **"It took me while to figure out what to get you...hope you like it."**

Emily smiled and began opening the gift, **"I'm sure I will."** When she got the box opened she gasped lightly when she saw the gorgeous silver pendent resting against a black velvet backdrop. Gently, Emily lifted the pendent out of the box, letting the silver chain attached to it slink out behind it. She held it reverently in her hand as her eyes traced the intricate design on the front. It was a wreath of laurel leaves with a heart and crown in the center. Emily recognized the pattern as a Claddagh design and she was speechless. She looked up at Daphne. **"Wow, this is...gorgeous Daphne, thank you."**

Daphne smiled despite the blush creeping up her face. **"There's more...it's, um...it's a locket. Open it."**

Emily looked back at the pendent and lifted her other hand to find the seam and open it. When she opened it she found two pictures inside. On one side, was a picture of herself with Katie that she remembered Daphne taking, and on the other side was a picture of her and Daphne that Daphne's mom had taken. She looked at the images for a long moment, realizing that the images held the two people in her life that were closest to her heart. She finally looked up at Daphne, wondering how to ask how Daphne knew which pictures to put inside.

Daphne saw the question in her friend's eyes and said, **"I figured, since we'll be going away to college soon, it would be good to have a reminder of your best friend and your little sister. Your mom explained to me why you are so close to Katie and I wanted to find a way to let you know I fully support it. This way, when you're away at college and so am I, you can look at the locket and remember us."** Daphne closed her mouth then, realizing she was rambling and probably not making sense. When she'd seen the locket in the store, she'd known it was perfect...but now, she realized that it wasn't a best friend gift as much as it was a girlfriend gift and she was starting to feel like she'd made a mistake.

Emily understood though, what Daphne was trying to say, and she loved the necklace even more because of it. Emily knew she wasn't going to be leaving the state for college but she knew Daphne wanted to. She knew her best friend was worried she'd forget her when she went away, not knowing there was no way Emily would or could ever forget her.

Emily leaned forward and hugged her best friend, **"Thank you, I love it."**

Emily's parents took that moment to slip out of the room to give the girls some privacy, and also to exchange their private, married couple gifts that their daughter didn't need to know about.

Emily noticed her parents leaving and was secretly glad to have some time alone with her best friend.

Daphne pulled back and looked around and that's when she noticed they were alone. She turned back to Emily, **"So you really like it? It's not, you know, too much?"**

Emily just smiled and shook her head, **"No it's perfect, thank you."**

Daphne relaxed a little, **"Good. So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"**

Emily took a moment to think about that then, **"Um...right now nothing except hanging with Katie. Why? You have something in mind?"**

Daphne took a moment to think about what she wanted to ask then amended her original plan and said, **"Well, I was thinking maybe we could hang out today? Maybe take advantage of the recent snowfall and teach Katie how to make a snowman?"**

Emily smiled and said, **"That sounds like a great idea. As soon as Katie wakes up from her nap, we can go. In the meantime, since my parents are doing their own thing, why don't we just relax here and watch some tv?"**

Daphne nodded, **"Sounds like a plan to me. What's on right now?"**

**"I don't know, let's find out."** Emily picked up the remote control for the cable box and turned on the television. She began flipping through the channels until she found one that was airing _It's a Wonderful Life_. It was Emily's favorite movie and it was just starting.

Daphne admitted that she'd never seen the classic movie before so Emily insisted they watch it.

The girls settled in to watch the movie, both content to sit there together on the couch enjoying each other's company.

Much later, after the movie had ended, they took Katie out to the park and had a great afternoon making snowmen and just playing in the snow. When they'd had their fill, Emily drove them back home and made them some hot chocoalte with marshmallows. They then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching television and playing with Katie until her bedtime. It was one of the best Christmases that Emily could remember having in a long time.

TBC...

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the long delay. This chapter took longer than expected as I tried to figure out what would be suitable gifts in 1988. The concert mentioned was a real concert that I found during my research. This story will have a few time jumps...while I have a rough idea as to where the jumps will be, I am open to any suggestions. Reviews are always welcome. <strong>


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: Bit of a time jump...the first of a few to come. I know it's been a while but I finally got the muse to take a look at this one and this is what came out. Hope you all enjoy it. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 <strong>

_May 1989_

It was a month until graduation and it was starting to really sink in for Emily. High school was almost over and soon, she would be in college and Katie would be another year older, and Daphne would be almost 3000 miles away.

Daphne had recently been accepted to Stanford University for the fall semester and Emily, being a good best friend, had put aside her own feelings and encouraged Daphne to go for it. Emily had gotten her acceptance letter from Princeton a week ago and when she'd told Daphne, her friend was happy for her.

Emily knew that, while she might've liked to go to Yale or Harvard, she had to stay in New Jersey for Katie. It wouldn't be fair to uproot her daughter for four years when she didn't have to. She knew Daphne didn't totally get why she was staying in New Jersey and not taking advantage of the opportunity to 'escape' her parents.

But Emily knew that she couldn't do that, not to her parents and certainly not to her daughter. She loved Katie too much to be away from her for four years even if her parents _were_ willing to raise her while Emily went to college somewhere else. So she had looked into the local universities and Princeton was one of a handful of universities that offered the courses that Emily wanted to study.

Elizabeth Prentiss was very proud of her daughter for making such a mature decision. She knew it couldn't have been easy watching her best friend get accepted to Stanford and knowing that she was going to have to stay a lot closer to home because of Katie, but Emily seemed to be handling it well. Elizabeth also knew that, in a month's time, Emily would be telling Daphne the truth about Katie, in accordance with their deal. Elizabeth just hoped that the revelation wouldn't damage their friendship.

* * *

><p>Contrary to popular belief, the weeks leading up to graduation weren't as crazy as Emily had thought it would be. Once finals were over, there was very little left to do but wait for the grades, the class rings, the yearbooks, and the caps and gowns. Once she finished her last final, Emily decided not to attend the last week of classes, since they were optional and mostly consisted of getting yearbooks signed by your friends and favorite teachers and squeezing the last final moments with friends before college separated them. Emily only really had Daphne and two teachers that she wanted to get to sign her yearbook so she got that out of the way early and chose to spend her final week before graduation at home with Katie.<p>

Emily was sitting on the couch in the family room with Katie playing on the floor with her toys when the doorbell rang. Her mom was in the City at a meeting for work and her dad had gone out to the store so she was home alone with Katie.

Emily made sure Katie was engrossed in her toys before she quickly went to the door to see who it was. She opened the door and smiled when she saw that it was Daphne. She let her best friend in the house and they headed to the family room to hang out.

**"So, Emily, tomorrow's the big day. You ready for it?"** Daphne asked, wanting to know if she was the only one who was nervous about the graduation ceremony. Luckily, neither of them had to do anything but show up and collect their diplomas. She didn't envy the girl who had been chosen Valedictorian and had to give a speech.

Emily grinned, **"Yeah, I am. I'm not going to miss high school...but I am going to miss you when you're off in California."**

Daphne looked away for a moment then turned back to Emily, **"Yeah, me too. It's going to be so lonely in California without you Em. Are you sure you really wanna stay here in New Jersey?"** Daphne wondered if Emily's parents were pressuring her to stay close to home to help with Katie. She didn't think it was fair to make Emily stay in town to look after her baby sister, no matter how close they were.

Emily sighed, she knew the only way Daphne would understand her decision was if she knew the truth...and despite her deal with her mom, Emily decided she didn't want to wait until after graduation. They were going to walk across that stage tomorrow, so what difference did a few hours make in the grand scheme of things? Emily knew that, with both her parents out of the house, now was a good time to just tell Daphne the truth. She took a deep breath and said, **"Daphne, there's something I need to tell you. It's about Katie and why I am staying in New Jersey."**

Daphne looked into Emily's eyes and realized she was serious, **"Okay, what is it?"**

Emily found she couldn't look at Daphne while she admitted the truth, so she picked a spot on the wall just behind the blonde's shoulder and stared at it while she began talking. **"Katie...isn't my sister...she's my daughter. Before we moved here, I made a stupid decision and ended up getting pregnant. My parents stood by me and we moved here where no one knew us so that I could have a chance at a normal high school experience. We made up the story about Katie being my sister mostly to protect my mom's political career as well as my reputation."** Emily stopped there for a moment, giving Daphne a chance to process this new information.

Daphne turned and looked at Katie who was still engrossed in her toys and not really paying attention to them. She studied the little girl and, in light of what Emily had just told her, she began to see the similarities in Katie's facial features that seemed to hint at more than a sister connection. It became clear to the young blonde that Emily was telling her the truth, Katie really was her daughter and not her sister. Daphne began to nod in comprehension and then she chuckled a little before turning back to Emily with a smile on her face. **"So...that's why you're staying in New Jersey?"**

Emily nodded, **"Yeah."**

Daphne shook her head in disbelief and said, **"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"**

Emily sighed, **"I wanted to, so many times I wanted to tell you the truth. Especially the times when you would talk about how close me and Katie seemed and how you couldn't believe I'd rather spend the night at home with her than go out to some party or to the movies. But I couldn't tell you because I couldn't risk losing your friendship if you knew the truth. That I had Katie when I was just barely 16."**

Daphne took a moment to think about that one and she could, objectively speaking, see how Emily might think it would change things between them. **"You should know by now Em, that you're stuck with me. I mean, if you moving away for several months didn't change things, nothing would."** Daphne paused as she thought of something, **"wait, so when you moved away to Italy for your mom's job and then came back in the fall with a kid sister, that was when you had Katie?"**

Emily just nodded, knowing she was going to have to explain about that sooner or later.

**"So that means that you were already pregnant when we became friends and those guys asked you out? Is that why you said no to them?"**

Emily let out a small chuckle at that, **"I said no to them because I didn't like them...and also because I was already pregnant then. I had sworn off dating anyone because of what happened the last time where I got pregnant. Dating just...wasn't a priority for me. And yes, when I went away during April vacation last year, I didn't go to Italy but to Atlantic City to live for the rest of my pregnancy and until Katie was born. That was when we came up with the sister story."**

Daphne stood up and paced a little before she sat back down and asked, **"So...where's the father?"**

Emily wasn't expecting that question and she took a moment to compose herself before she answered, **"The last I heard he was still in Italy with his parents. When I found out I was pregnant, I told him about it, and his only response was that I get an abortion. I went home and told my parents and realized I didn't want to get an abortion. My mom and dad stood by me. My dad's lawyer had papers drawn up that basically cut his parental rights. He happily signed the papers, glad to not be on the hook for child support or anything like that. We left Italy soon after that and moved here. Katie's father, John, will never be a part of her life."**

Daphne couldn't believe what Emily was saying, **"Wow, so he just signed away his rights and walked away from you and Katie?"**

Emily nodded, **"Yeah...though to be fair, at the time he was mostly walking away from me. Katie was still just a few weeks old fetus. But yeah, in the long run he walked away from us both."**

Daphne turned again to look at Katie and her heart ached a little at the thought of anyone just walking away from the little dark haired angel. Yeah, she herself was going to California for college but she wasn't walking away from Emily and Katie. She would be back on the holidays and for summer break. Daphne had every intention of being a major part of Emily and Katie's life and knowing now that Katie was Emily's daughter, didn't change that one bit for her. She turned back to Emily with a smile on her face, **"Thank you for telling me the truth. It doesn't change anything though. Like I said, you're stuck with me Emily."**

Emily let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding when she heard Daphne's reassurance. Without thinking about it, she launched herself across the sofa and hugged her best friend tightly.

Daphne returned the hug and she smiled as she allowed herself to indulge in having Emily this close to her. She was still harboring some...romantic feelings for her friend and while she might not be ready to say anything about them to Emily, it didn't mean she couldn't enjoy these moments.

Emily finally pulled away after a few moments and she turned to look at her daughter. Katie carefully stood up and walked over to Emily. She placed a hand on Emily's knee and smiled up at her mama. **"Mama, nom nom."**

Emily grinned, 'nom nom' was Katie's way of saying she was hungry. Emily picked her daughter up and stood up from the couch. She turned to Daphne, **"I'm going to get Katie a snack, wanna join me?"**

Daphne nodded and stood up too. Together, Emily and Daphne brought Katie into the kitchen and Emily placed Katie into her high chair while she got out a snack for her daughter.

Before too long, Emily and Daphne were also enjoying a snack as Katie began to feed each of them from her bowl of cherrios. It was a nice afternoon, spent playing with Katie and then just talking about their future plans once Katie went down for her nap. By the time Daphne left, Emily's parents were home and Emily felt much better about the future now that Daphne knew the truth about Katie.

Emily went to bed that night with a smile on her face as she thought about what the future might hold for the three of them.

* * *

><p>The graduation ceremony went off without a hitch. The speeches by the Principal, the Valedictorian and two guest speakers were long and dull but Emily got through it by thinking about what would happen later that night. Her parents were taking care of Katie so that Daphne and Emily could have one last night to party and celebrate graduating. Daphne would be leaving for a summer immersion program at Stanford before beginning her freshman year, in a few days and Emily wanted to spend some extra time with her friend before she left.<p>

Once the final name had been called and the student walked across the stage to grab his diploma, the ceremony concluded with one last brief speech by the Vice Principal before they were released onto the world.

Emily, Katie and her parents were gathered around her dad's car when Daphne came up to them, her own parents trailing behind her. The adults greeted each other warmly, the years of having their daughters be best friends had worked to allow them to get to know each other. Daphne's dad was a big fan of William Prentiss' books.

Emily and Daphne hugged and Daphne picked up Katie and hugged her too. Soon, pictures were being taken and everyone was in a pretty good mood. Emily made sure to get a picture of herself with Daphne and one of Daphne with Katie and of course, one of the three of them together.

Elizabeth took the picture of the three of them and, as she looked through the camera's viewfinder, she couldn't help but notice how much they looked like a family. She took the picture and then shook those thoughts out of her head.

Before too long, both families left the parking lot of the hall where the ceremony had taken place and headed home. It was only five pm and Emily and Daphne were set to meet up around eight. That gave Emily three hours to change clothes and make sure Katie was fed and down for the night before she left to pick Daphne up for their night of fun.

Once Katie was safely in dreamland, Emily took a quick shower and got dressed in jeans and a t shirt before she said a quick goodbye and thank you to her parents and sailed out the door. Tonight was hopefully, going to be a night to remember for both of them.

* * *

><p>Emily pulled up to the curb by Daphne's house and wasn't surprised to see her best friend waiting on her porch. There was still some sunlight out so Emily just watched as Daphne walked to the car and got in. Once she had her seatbelt fastened, Daphne turned to Emily, <strong>"So Em, where are we going?"<strong>

Emily had kept the details of their celebration a secret, simply telling her friend to dress casually and to be ready by eight. Emily smiled at Daphne and just said, **"You'll see...it's a surprise."**

Daphne, trusting Emily completely, simply shrugged and said, **"Okay then. Let's get on with it."**

Emily grinned and put the car in drive and drove away. She hopped on the highway a few minutes later and soon she was taking an exit that would lead to their destination. Emily drove confidently but quietly, not willing to risk conversation and have her secret plan leak out.

Daphne just went with it and decided to play with the radio, willing to let Emily have her secrets as long as she needed to, knowing Emily would soon show her what she had planned.

Emily turned onto a private drive and soon was parking in front of a rustic-looking cabin. She turned off the engine and turned to Daphne. **"We're here."**

Daphne looked around through the windshield and noticed they were in the woods, and the house before them had only the porch light on. She turned to Emily, **"Where exactly is here?"**

Emily grinned, **"This cabin belongs to a friend of my dad's and he agreed to let us use it for the night when I asked him. He said, graduation is a big deal and if we weren't going to be joining all the other wild parties going on tonight, the least he could do was give us a place to celebrate our own way. So, he gave me the keys this morning and told me it was all ready for us. Come on."**

Emily got out of the car and walked around to Daphne's door, which was still closed. Emily opened it and looked down at her friend, **"What's the matter?"**

Daphne looked from the cabin to Emily and back to the cabin. She took a deep breath mentally scolding herself for being such an idiot. Her initial thought when she saw the secluded cabin was that, out here in the middle of nowhere, she might not be able to control her feelings for Emily and she might end up saying or doing something that she wouldn't be able to take back.

She shook her head and smiled, **"Nothing, just taking it all in."** With that, she stepped out of the car and walked towards the cabin.

Emily closed and locked the car then followed Daphne to the cabin. They reached the front door and Emily unlocked it and let Daphne go in first. Emily followed and turned to lock the door. When she turned back to look at Daphne, she could see the blonde looking all around.

The cabin was fairly big, with a great room, a kitchen, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. It had central heating and air conditioning and a fireplace in the great room. Emily took Daphne's hand and led her to the couch in front of the fireplace. They sat down and Emily just smiled, **"So...do you like your surprise?"**

Daphne took one last look around the room and then turned back to Emily, **"Yeah...I do. So is there any food or drinks here?"**

Emily laughed and said, **"Oh yeah. Everything we could need. You relax and I'll get us something to eat okay?"**

Daphne nodded and leaned back into the couch, enjoying the plushness of the cushions. She looked around again and, against her better judgment, her mind began conjuring up images of the things she wanted to do with Emily in this cabin. The couch, the deep plush carpet just in front of the fireplace both became ideal places to make out and make love with Emily. She thought about the bedrooms this place must have and again began picturing herself and Emily entwined, naked, on crisp white sheets. She knew it was never going to happen but that didn't stop her traitorous mind from creating the images, or her body from reacting to them.

Emily went to the kitchen and began to pull together some sandwiches and chips. She was about to reach for the soda when something caught her eye in the corner of the kitchen. She moved closer and realized it was a liquor cabinet...and it wasn't locked. She opened the doors and saw the options. There was vodka, whiskey, rum, and a few bottles of wine. Emily donned an evil grin as she reached for one of the bottles of wine, a Chardonnay, and quickly uncorked it and poured some into two wine glasses she'd found.

Tonight, they were going to have wine with their 'dinner' and Emily wasn't going to worry about the consequences. Her parents had already agreed to watch Katie until the morning and Daphne's parents had also agreed to let Daphne stay out all night, it was graduation after all.

Emily put everything on a tray and carried it back out to the great room. She placed the tray on the coffee table and handed Daphne one of the wine glasses. She lifted hers in a toast, **"To graduation and the future."**

Daphne nodded and clinked her glass with Emily's before taking a sip of the wine. She knew she probably shouldn't be drinking alcohol, that it would only lower her defenses and increase the odds that she would make a move on Emily, but she didn't care in that moment. She had decided to just let it all go and enjoy the night.

* * *

><p>Several hours, and two bottles of wine later, they were on the couch just enjoying to mellow feeling the wine was giving them. During the course of the evening, they had moved closer together until there was no room between them. Now they were on the couch, just drinking their wine and listening to the music that Emily had turned on a few hours ago.<p>

Emily lifted her head and turned to look at Daphne, **"You know, there's something else I wanted to tell you before you left for California."**

Daphne turned to look at Emily. **"Oh yeah? What's that?"**

**"This."** Without warning or really much thought behind it, Emily leaned forward and pressed her lips to Daphne's. She kissed her best friend for a few seconds before she pulled away and looked at Daphne, waiting for her to say something.

With the wine buzzing through her veins and lowering her inhibitions, Daphne opted not to say anything. Instead, she moved forward and kissed Emily.

Emily, while surprised, wasn't about to let this opportunity pass her by...not after all the months she'd spent trying to convince herself that what she was feeling for her best friend was wrong. Daphne was kissing her back and Emily planned to enjoy every moment of it.

Before long, Daphne pressed forward and soon had Emily on her back on the couch. They stretched out together on the couch and their legs entwined as their lips continued their exploration of each other's mouths. Emily opened her mouth and let her tongue play against Daphne's lips for a moment before the blonde got the hint and allowed her entrance.

Tongues dueled for dominance but Emily soon surrendered to Daphne. Hands soon began to wander and Emily sighed when Daphne's hand closed around her breast. Emily's own hands had found their way to Daphne's ass and she squeezed lightly as she brought Daphne more snugly against her.

At this point, Emily knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself if Daphne didn't stop her. Emily suddenly wanted more...she wanted to make love to Daphne and so she pulled out of the kiss to give Daphne the choice of continuing to the bedroom or stopping now. It was an option she never really had with John and she didn't want to do anything that Daphne might regret in the morning.

**"Daphne, I...I wanna take you back to the bedroom and make love with you...but if you're not ready or you don't want to, you need to tell me now, please?"**

Daphne lifted herself on her arms enough to look into Emily's eyes. She was a virgin but she knew that she wanted her first time to be with Emily. She wanted this as much as Emily seemed to and so she smiled, **"Emily, I want this...I want you. Let's go find that bedroom."** Daphne lifted herself off the couch and reached a hand down to help Emily up.

Emily stood up and felt all the blood in her body rush south at Daphne's words. She took Daphne's hand and led her to the back hallway where the bedrooms were. They walked into the master bedroom and paused a moment to really appreciate the king sized, four poster bed in the center of the room.

Emily slowly led Daphne to the side of the bed and she leaned in and kissed her again. As they got lost in the kiss, clothes began to fall away until they were naked in front of each other. Emily took a step back and took a moment to take in and admire the sight of her best friend and soon to be lover. Daphne was absolutely gorgeous and Emily, knowing Daphne was a virgin, felt doubly blessed that she was being given this special gift.

Emily drew the sheets back on the bed and slipped under them before she pulled Daphne down next to her. She rolled over until she was hovering over the blond. In a moment of clarity, Emily realized something and she knew she couldn't continue until she told Daphne, **"I love you."**

Emily lowered her head and kissed Daphne, not giving her a chance to respond, because she didn't need to know how Daphne felt about her, she just needed Daphne to know how _she_ felt.

Emily began planting kisses down Daphne's neck, nipping and licking and she even managed to leave a good sized hickey on her shoulder before she moved lower to Daphne's breasts.

Daphne's mind was spinning with the sensations that Emily's lips were causing. She wanted to let herself go completely but first she needed to say something. She reached down and pulled Emily head up to hers so she could look into her eyes. When she had Emily's attention she whispered, **"I love you too Emily."**

Emily kissed her again before she resumed her task of making love to Daphne. Knowing Daphne loved her too had her smiling the whole time. Emily knew in that moment that nothing and no one else would ever come close to Daphne in her heart.

The rest of the night was spent learning and exploring each other's bodies. They spent the whole night making love, and it wasn't until the first streaks of sunlight began to light the sky that they finally managed to fall asleep. Emily lay behind Daphne one arm wrapped around her waist and the other under the pillow, one leg draped over Daphne's. It had been a perfect night together and before Emily succumbed to the Sandman, her final thought was that she could see herself spending the rest of her life with Daphne and Katie...as a family.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, Emily woke up and found Daphne awake and looking at her. She smiled and said, <strong>"Good morning."<strong>

**"Good morning. Sleep well?" **

**"Yeah, I did. You?"**

Daphne grinned, **"Oh yeah...especially since I was next to you. I love you Emily."**

Emily felt her heart melt, **"I love you too."** She paused a moment before asking what she knew would be the make or break question, **"So...are you...okay with everything that happened last night?"**

Daphne took a moment to give the question some honest consideration. She didn't regret anything about last night. Her only regret was that she was leaving soon for California and college. **"Yeah, I am. Are you?"**

Emily smiled, **"Yeah...I just wish you weren't leaving for college tomorrow."**

**"Me too."** Daphne wished now she had applied to an East Coast school but it was too late. She was driving to California so that she would have her car in California. Her parents had surprised her with a car a few days before graduation.

There were a few moments of silence as each girl thought about what it would mean to be separated so soon after discovering this new facet of their relationship. Emily wondered if it was fair of her to want a long distance relationship with Daphne.

Daphne was going off to college in a new place and she would be meeting new people and finding out who she was, Emily didn't want to hold Daphne back from anything in California. Plus, there was Katie to consider. Emily knew that any relationship she entered into would have to include her daughter and while Daphne genuinely cared for Katie, Emily wondered if that would be enough. Daphne was still young enough to find someone else, someone who didn't already have a child. She still had time to realize that this wasn't what she really wanted. Emily didn't want to be the reason that Daphne missed out on anything because she was tied to a girlfriend and a kid.

Daphne was looking at Emily and seeing practically every thought telegraphed in her face. Emily didn't really have a poker face and Daphne was glad for that, because she had never been much of a mind reader. She could see that Emily was thinking about things that were too heavy for this early in the day.

Emily turned to Daphne, **"I think...given that you're leaving for California tomorrow, that we should keep what happened last night to just last night. Daphne, I don't ever want to be the reason you miss out on anything in college. So how about we just stay friends and if, when you come back for summer vacation, we still feel the same...we'll go from there?"**

Daphne thought about what Emily was saying and, while she didn't think being with Emily would hold her back or make her miss out on anything, she could see the logic behind Emily's words. They were going to be 3000 miles apart with only letters and the occasional phone call to connect them. It wasn't fair to either of them. Daphne knew that the feelings she had for Emily weren't ever going to go away but she also knew that the only way she was going to prove that to her dark haired friend was to go along with Emily's suggestion and come back next summer ready to woo Emily back.

**"For the record, my love for you isn't ever going to go away. But I can see that you need this to convince you of that so, okay. We'll go back to being just friends and next summer, when I come back here, you and me...we'll try again."** Daphne leaned closer and sealed their deal with a kiss before she left the bed and gathered her clothes and went into the master bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. She knew if she stayed in that warm bed, naked, with Emily she wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to have Emily again.

Emily lay in the bed and watched as Daphne left the room. She knew she was doing the right thing, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She wanted nothing more than to join Daphne in that shower and just allow their relationship to develop but she knew that wasn't an option. She had to be the grown up here, because she was the one with a kid, and not be selfish.

Emily got out of the bed and took her clothes to the other bathroom to shower and get dressed, stubbornly ignoring the ache in her chest at the thought of what could've been.

* * *

><p>Emily dropped Daphne off at her house a few hours later and they said their goodbyes for the day. Tomorrow, when Daphne left for California, they would have another chance to say a proper goodbye but for now, they both chose to keep it casual. Emily waited until Daphne was inside her house before she pulled away and headed home.<p>

She got home and the minute she walked in the door she was attacked by a tiny blur of giggling fun as Katie launched herself at her mama. Emily grabbed her daughter and held her close. She had missed her little girl and she really needed a hug right then.

Emily carried Katie into the family room where her dad was sitting watching television. It was obvious by the toys scattered around the floor that he was mostly keeping an eye on Katie.

Emily greeted her dad and after a few minutes, he left the room and headed back to his typewriter, now that Emily was home to watch Katie. Emily's mom was already at work in the City so it was just the three of them in the house. Emily was relieved that she wouldn't have to explain to anyone how her night had gone. Her dad would be too engrossed in his latest novel and her mother wasn't going to be home until late.

Emily spent the rest of the day playing with her daughter and trying not to think about what tomorrow would bring when Daphne drove away.

Daphne spent the rest of the day thinking about Emily as she packed the few last minute things she would need for college. She also loaded up the car and got it ready for the next day. She was leaving fairly early in the morning to beat the traffic out of the city and onto the highway. She figured it would take her about 3 or 4 days to drive cross country. She had plenty of money from her parents for hotel rooms and food along the way and once she got to California she would check into the school and get her dorm assignment and she'd be pretty much all set. She would get a job to cover expenses but her tuition was already taken care of thanks to her scholarship and her parents.

The summer program was fairly exclusive and it was an honor to be chosen to attend. It was six months of classes compressed into two months. It was intense and competitive but it also gave you an edge when the fall semester started. It was a way to knock off some of the general education credits early so you could focus on your major more intensely.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Emily and Katie were standing in Daphne's driveway waiting as the blonde said her goodbyes to her parents. Emily didn't like the idea of Daphne moving so far away but she knew there was nothing to be done about it now.<p>

Daphne gave her mom one last hug before she turned and walked over to Emily and Katie. When she reached them, Daphne pulled them both into a group hug.

When she pulled away she turned first to Katie, **"Goodbye Katie. I'll see you next summer okay baby girl?"**

Katie looked at Daphne and grinned before she leaned closer and hugged her again, planting a wet sloppy kiss on Daphne's cheek. It was Katie's personal seal of approval.

Daphne then turned to Emily, **"As for you, I'll be seeing you soon."** She raised her hand to Emily's cheek, **"I know we said just friends, but I can't help how I feel. So, I'm going to kiss you and then I'm going to get in this car and drive away while I still can, okay?"**

Without waiting for a response, Daphne leaned closer and kissed Emily. It was a sweet, chaste kiss, nothing like what she wanted to give her but given the circumstances, it was the best she could do. She pulled away and with a final whispered, **"I love you Emily. Goodbye."** Daphne got into her car and started the engine. Emily moved out of the way of the car and watched with tears in her eyes as Daphne drove away. Emily stood there, silently vowing to one day have a future with Daphne...not knowing at the time that that was going to be the last time she ever saw her friend.

TBC...

* * *

><p><strong>AN2: I know Emily has a canon reputation for compartmentalization and her poker face but you also have to remember she's still just 18 here...she hasn't developed those traits yet...but she will. Things will happen that will force her to develop them. For now, I hope you enjoyed this little update. More to come hopefully soon. But first, some of my other stories need updates too. For the record though, I like to think that subconsciously at least, Emily had a plan to seduce Daphne when she secured the cabin for graduation night. But of course, she will never confirm nor deny this claim so I'll just let you decide if she planned it or not. <strong>


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_August 1989_

It was two weeks until Emily started the fall semester at Princeton and she was excited, but her joy was tempered by the fact that, apart from a few postcards from the road, she hadn't heard from Daphne for over a month now. She tried not to get too worried about it, figuring that her friend was probably busy with her summer program and with the time difference between the East Coast and the West Coast, she could understand the lack of communication. Still, a part of her really wished Daphne would call her or send her a letter.

Luckily, Katie was a great distraction from her worries. Her daughter was almost 2 years old and Emily had her hands full taking care of her, especially now that she was walking all over the house.

Without the distraction of school this summer, Emily had spent more and more time with Katie, just the two of them. Her mom had gone back to working full days at the Federal Building where she worked when she was stateside. Her father had taken to locking himself in the basement office all day finishing his latest book, only emerging for meals and bathroom breaks until after 7 when he stopped for the night.

Emily and Katie had developed a routine for the summer break that included plenty of time for playing in the yard and watching cartoons.

One Friday morning, Emily was in the kitchen cleaning up after their breakfast while Katie watched cartoons in the family room when the phone rang. Emily wiped her hands dry on a towel and walked over to the phone on the wall.

**"Hello?"**

**"Emily, dear, I was wondering if you and Katie wanted to come into the city and join me for lunch. I'm taking a half day and was hoping we could have a fun afternoon together in the city, what do you say?" **Elizabeth, when faced with the reality of being able to leave the office early, had jumped at it and quickly decided to make the most of it by having her adorable granddaughter finally see where she worked.

Emily smiled at the thought of spending the afternoon in the city. **"Yeah that sounds good, hang on." **Emily put her hand over the speaker on the handset and called out to Katie to join her in the kitchen. Emily watched as Katie walked into the kitchen, smiling as she came closer. **"Katie, you wanna go see Nana at her job?"**

Katie took a second to reply, as if she was seriously thinking about it then she smiled, **"Yeah! See nana!"**

Emily giggled at her daughter's enthusiasm. She turned back to the phone, **"Well, the princess has spoken. We'll be there around noon, okay?"**

Elizabeth held in her laughter at hearing her granddaughter's response, **"That sounds perfect, see you both then."**

Emily hung up the phone then turned to her daughter, **"Okay Katie-bug, we're gonna go see nana in a few hours. Go watch tv for a bit while I finish here then we'll get dressed to go sound good?"**

Katie just nodded, still smiling as she turned and ran back to the family room. Emily smiled as she watched her daughter run off then she finished her cleaning up.

Before she went to get Katie to get her dressed, she turned to the door leading to the basement and walked halfway down the stairs. She got her dad's attention and filled him in on the plan to go into the city. He smiled and nodded, acknowledging that the house would be empty before he turned back to his typewriter and continued writing.

Emily shook her head, smiling at her dad's focus, before she walked back up the stairs and got Katie to get dressed.

* * *

><p>Emily walked down the corridor towards her mom's office, holding Katie's hand to make sure the little girl didn't run off on her own. She got to her mom's door and knocked, she heard her mom's voice saying to come in and she opened the door to let Katie in first.<p>

Katie saw her nana and she broke into a run right towards her. Emily let her go, knowing she was safe in this room, and turned to close the door behind her.

Elizabeth grabbed her granddaughter up as she got close enough and hugged her. Emily took a moment to just watch her usually reserved mother laughing and playing with Katie. It was a nice sight to see and Emily loved seeing it whenever the two of them were together.

Emily and Katie spend about 20 minutes in Elizabeth's office while her mom finished up some last minute business that couldn't be put off until Monday.

There was a knock at the door and Elizabeth fought to compose herself as she called out for the person on the other side to enter. At this point, Katie was sitting on the floor next to the coffee table by the couch in the corner, coloring on some scrap paper and softly singing to herself the latest song that Emily had been playing in the car on the ride over. Katie had a real ear for music and she could often pick up lyrics after only a few times hearing a song. It amused Elizabeth and Emily to hear Katie singing 'Borderline' or 'Time After Time'.

Emily turned to the door as a serious looking man walked in, holding a folder in one hand. He was tall with dark, close cropped hair and dark eyes. He looked like he never smiled.

Elizabeth turned her attention to the man and said, **"Hello Special Agent Hotchner, I don't think you've met my daughter yet, this is Emily. Emily this is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, of the FBI. He was assigned to run a few security checks on my staff, I'm taking on a few new people and they need to be vetted. Emily is off to Princeton this fall."**

Elizabeth paused, giving Emily and Agent Hotchner time to greet each other.

**"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Prentiss. Congratulations on Princeton, that's a really great school." **Aaron turned towards the toddler who had stopped coloring long enough to look at the new man in the room before smiling at him and turning back to her picture. **"Is this your sister?"**

Emily turned to her mom who nodded imperceptibly before she said, **"Actually yes, this is my other daughter Katie."**

Aaron nodded and cracked a half smile at the little girl.

**"So, are those the final reports?" ** Elizabeth motioned to the folder he was carrying, not wanting to get into any further talk about Katie with the agent.

Aaron turned towards the Ambassador and nodded curtly, **"Yes ma'am. I think you'll be pleased with the results. Your full staff has been cleared and given approval by the director to work for you." **He handed the folder over to the woman and waited.

Elizabeth flipped through the folder, her keep eyes falling on all the important areas to confirm what he'd just told her. After a moment she noticed he was still standing there. She looked up at him, **"Was there something else Agent?"**

Aaron shifted a bit, not accustomed to having to ask a civilian to leave the room and not sure how to bring it up with regards to his, temporary, boss's daughters. **"Um, yes ma'am. Regarding the classified file you asked me to compile. I have some information on that but…well…**" He paused and glanced at Emily briefly.

Emily took the hint and taking pity on the young agent, she stood up, **"That's okay Agent Hotchner, I understand. Mother, how about I take Katie to the car and we'll wait for you, sound good?"**

Elizabeth relaxed a bit, having realized what Agent Hotchner was referring to and not wanting Emily to know about it, **"Yes thank you. Once I'm done here I'm leaving. I'll be down soon."**

Emily nodded and gathered Katie and her things up and they left the room. They were halfway downt he hall when she realized she forgot to tell her mother where she was parked. Emily debated for a moment about going back but then the decision was taken out of her hands as Katie wriggled free from her hand and ran back to her nana's office. Emily followed her and silently caught her just before she reached the door. The door wasn't closed completely and Emily caught a bit of the conversation. She was about to turn away when she heard something that rooted her to the spot.

* * *

><p><strong>"Ma'am, the preliminary searches didn't turn up anything on the whereabouts of Miss Morris, however, after you provided us with the credit card information that her parents provided, as well as a photograph of the girl, my team was able to determine that Miss Morris was last seen in Las Vegas. The credit card that her parents gave her 'for emergencies' was used at a motel off the main strip for two nights, after that, it was used at one of the smaller casinos for a cash advance of two thousand dollars. That is the last recorded activity on the card, other than the payments the Morris' have been making on the account."<strong>

Elizabeth took a moment, **"So, after that, there's no trace of the girl?"**

Aaron shook his head, **"Not one we can trace. Of course we've set up an alert on the card, in case it's used again, but I doubt that's going to happen. This girl has gone off the grid, whether it was by choice or by force is not known at this time." **He paused a moment, **"It may never be known ma'am, unless Miss Morris turns up…one way or another." **He didn't like having to place the idea in her head that this girl might be dead, but he knew it had to be done, to prepare her for that possibility.

Elizabeth didn't want to think about the possibility that Daphne Morris might be dead, but she knew it was stupid to not allow for that possibility. She sincerely hoped the young blonde wasn't dead. **"What about Stanford, any news from there?"**

Aaron shook his head, **"No ma'am. Stanford's admissions office has no record of her checking in for their summer program. They are holding her spot for the fall semester, on the off chance that she was…delayed in arriving and shows up for registration." **Aaron paused again and finally decided to just ask the question that had been bothering him since he'd been given the task of finding this young girl. **"Ma'am, if I may, what is your connection to this girl?"**

Elizabeth looked at him, confused, **"Why do you ask?"**

Aaron cleared his throat, **"Ma'am, your position in the State Department, as well as your standing on the world stage, could be compromised if there is an…inappropriate liaison with this young girl. I just wouldn't want to see this jeopardize your work." **Aaron had seen a few of his superiors brought down by a scandal or even a rumor that involved underage girls. He didn't want something like that to happen to Ambassador Prentiss.

Elizabeth relaxed, actually a little touched the young agent would care about her reputation. **"There's no need to worry Agent Hotchner. Miss Morris is my daughter's best friend and like another daughter to me. Her parents know I have connections in law enforcement and asked me to look into the situation when they stopped hearing from her. I'm simply helping a friend find her daughter."**

Aaron nodded. **"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry I couldn't bring you better news."**

**"You can't bring what doesn't exist Agent Hotchner. Thank you for your hard work."**

Aaron knew when his time was up and he turned towards the door. **"Thank you for your time ma'am. I'll keep you apprised of any new developments." **

Aaron opened the door and walked into the hall, taking a left towards the elevator that would take him two floors down to his office. He had an uneasy feeling about the Morris girl.

* * *

><p>Emily was sitting in her car with Katie in the car seat as she tried to absorb the information she'd overheard. She left the hall outside her mother's office right around the time the agent asked her mom what her connection to Daphne was, not needing to hear any more at that point, and not wanting to get caught eavesdropping.<p>

She was interrupted from her thoughts as she noticed her mom tapping on the passenger side window. Emily unlocked the car and let her mom into the car.

Before too long they were driving out of the parking garage and headed to the small restaurant that her mom had directed her to for their lunch. Emily resolved to put thoughts of what her mom had been talking about with Agent Hotchner out of her mind until she was alone again to really process it. In the meantime, she decided to enjoy her day with her mom and her daughter.

* * *

><p>By the time classes started for Emily at Princeton, she was determined to walk her own path and find out what happened to Daphne. But first, she needed an education and she needed to make sure Katie was safe as well. Emily decided that the only was she'd be able to gain access to the files and information that Agent Hotchner had gathered for her mother was to join the FBI herself and access them. Her mother wasn't about to hand them over, not if she was still doing this in secret and she knew Agent Hotchner wouldn't tell her anything either. No, the only way for her to gain the knowledge she needed to begin her own search for Daphne was to become a federal agent. It wasn't her dream from childhood, but it was a respectable profession and one in which she could help others while she was looking for her friend.<p>

So, Emily declared Criminal Justice as her major and began taking the required classes. She was determined to graduate with her B.S. in Criminal Justice and then apply to the Academy the following fall. She had a plan and all she had to do was follow it.

She also decided that, when she finished the academy she would request the New Jersey field office as her assignment so she could stay close to Katie and not have to pull her out of school.

She talked it over with her dad and he agreed that, if she was still determined to join the academy when she graduated, he would take care of Katie while she was in DC training. Her mother, while not a fan of Emily's choice, still supported her.

Emily was soon on her way to becoming a federal agent.

TBC...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is a short chapter and I'm sorry about that but I needed to get this part out before I could advance to where I needed to be. Some of my readers have asked if I will detail Emily's college years or jump ahead, while others were wondering what that catalyst would be for Emily joining the FBI. Well, hopefully I answered that last part here. As for the first question, I am going to be jumping ahead to Emily's arrival at the BAU in the next chapter. I don't think anyone really wants to read about college years when we can jump right to the JJ of it all. As promised JJ would only enter as she was meant to (meaning in canon when Emily joins the BAU) and not a moment sooner. In response to a recent commentquestion, I am NOT including Emily's stint in the CIA. In this story because she had Katie, Emily never joined the CIA therefore the entire (and in my mind ridiculous) storyline on the show about Ian Doyle and all he brings to Season 6 never happened. Someone else took Emily's place and incurred Doyle's wrath. I included Hotcher because in canon he met her right before she went off to college and he worked for her mom so I thought I'd drop him in here to see who noticed. Hehehe. Next chapter will hopefully be up soon.**

**Acathla**


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: This one came to me rather fast so I had to write and post it. This is the last pre-canon filler chapter. Next up is my take on Emily's first appearance at the BAU and from there, there will be spoilers for Season 2 and beyond. Though hopefully by now, you have watched those seasons so many times there can be no more actual spoilers, right? There is a major time jump and if I didn't add enough of a recap of the intervening years, I'm sorry. I'll be trying to weave moments from those years into the upcoming chapters as needed. Until then, enjoy the update.**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 10<span>**

_November 2006_

It was the day after Halloween and Special Agent Emily Prentiss was sitting at her desk in the bullpen of the DC FBI Field office and she was…a little bored. Halloween had offered little excitement for the dark haired woman. Local law enforcement had handled the usual mischief of the holiday and Emily had spent the evening sitting in her condo waiting for the trick or treaters that would inevitably find their way to her door.

She used to love Halloween, but ever since her daughter Katie had turned 15, the shine had gone off the night. Until that year, she would get dressed up and take Katie out trick or treating in whatever costume the young girl had chosen for that year and they'd had a great time. But when Katie had turned 15, she'd come under the influence of her friends who convinced her trick or treating was for 'babies' and so had ended a fun tradition.

So now, Emily spent Halloween handing out candy and catching up on paperwork while Katie usually attended a party or some other event. Emily hated letting go of her little girl but she also understood that it was inevitable so she put on a brave face and went with it.

This year, Katie had attended a party at one of the frat houses on campus. Emily trusted her daughter to act responsibly, even on Halloween, so she hadn't worried about her more than any parent would when they heard 'frat party'.

Emily sat at her desk on November first and thought back on the last seventeen years of her life and how much had changed for her and her daughter.

Emily had graduated with honors from Princeton with a B.S in Criminal Justice and a minor in Forensic Psychology. Her father had kept up his end of their deal and had taken care of Katie for the 21 weeks that she was away at the FBI academy. Emily had graduated the Academy with her pick of assignments and while she'd been tempted to request the Las Vegas office to pick up her search for Daphne, she knew the smarter move was to request the New Jersey office to stay close to her daughter.

Emily had taken a desk job in the small Paterson New Jersey field office, mostly pushing papers around at the office and sifting through the, pitifully thin, file she'd managed to get a copy of that detailed Daphne's missing person case.

In 2000, she heard that the Quantico headquarters was going to be the host site for the Behavioral Analysis Unit and when she found out what they did and the access they had to information and files, she realized that was the unit she would have to join to continue her search for Daphne.

So, she quietly took the profiling classes when they were offered at the New York office and made the commute into the City for them.

When Katie had been accepted to Georgetown University on a full academic scholarship, Emily realized that she would have nothing holding her in New Jersey anymore. Her mother had resumed her full workload after Emily had graduated from college and her father had joined her at her postings after Emily had finished the academy.

Emily smiled as she remembered the conversation she'd had with Katie three days after she'd gotten the acceptance packet from Georgetown.

* * *

><p><em>August 2005<em>

**"Mom, can I talk to you?" ** Katie Prentiss stood in the doorway of her mother's home office, which was once her grandmother's home office when she still lived there with them, nervously playing with her long black hair.

Emily Prentiss looked up from the papers on her desk and smiled, **"Of course Katie. Come in and sit down." ** Emily put the papers aside and gave her daughter her full attention. She could hardly believe her little girl was almost 18. It seemed like only yesterday that she brought her home from the hospital.

Katie sat on the couch to the right of her mom's desk, still close enough to talk comfortably. She looked at her mom, **"Okay well, you know how I got into Georgetown, right?"**

Emily just nodded, **"Yeah…" **She was wondering where this was going.

Katie took a breath, **"Well…it's just that…the most we've ever lived apart was when you were at the FBI academy and Grandpa took care of me and even that was only for 21 weeks. This is going to be for at least 9 months at a time. Maybe more if I get a job or an internship in DC for the summer and…I was wondering if you might consider…moving to DC maybe?"**

Emily had to take a moment to digest what Katie had just asked her. She hadn't been expecting it. **"Um…I thought you wanted to live in the dorms and have a real college experience. Won't living with me in DC kind of ruin that?"**

Katie grinned as she shook her head, **"No, I mean…I wasn't asking you to move to DC so I could live with you. I'd still live in the dorms but…" **She shrugged her shoulders as she looked down at her hands, suddenly a little shy, **"I just thought that, if you lived in DC then we could spend weekends together and…I'd have a place to maybe go if the dorms ever get too loud or crazy to study, ya know?" **Katie stopped then, hoping her mom would understand without her having to explain it more…she wasn't sure she really could without admitting she was a little scared to be completely on her own in a strange town. For the majority of her life, it had been her and her mom. Her grandparents had been there for the first eight years of her life but then they'd moved away for her grandma's work so it had just been the two of them. Katie was much closer to her mom than most of her friends were with their moms because of how she grew up. It had been the two of them for the last ten years and she wasn't ready to change that yet.

Emily thought about what Katie wasn't saying, using the skills she learned in her profiling classes to realized that her little girl might be leaving the nest, but she wanted to keep it nearby in case she needed to return. Emily could certainly understand that and so she nodded.

**"I think I can do that. I just have to arrange a transfer to the DC office and then find an apartment. Shouldn't be a problem sweetie." ** Emily already knew that if she wanted a post in DC it was hers. Her supervisor had already gotten several requests from the DC office for her…mostly because of who her mother was and she'd always politely declined because she didn't want to get ahead on her mother's name but also because she didn't want to pull Katie out of school. But now, it was perfect timing. Emily had plenty of family money that finding a place to live wouldn't be a problem.

Katie grinned, **"Thanks mom." ** She went over to her mom and hugged her. **"Well I gotta get going, Lacey and Marcia are expecting me soon. We're going to the movies, is that okay?"**

Despite being a month shy of 18, Katie still asked permission for most things, knowing that until she was officially 18, she was still under her mom's 'law'.

Emily nodded, **"That's fine honey."**

Katie left the room and headed for the car in the driveway. It was Emily's first car and she'd passed it down to Katie when she'd gotten her license. Emily now drove a black Mustang.

Emily watched Katie leave before she picked up the phone on her desk and dialed her supervisor's private line. After a brief conversation, she had her transfer in the works and would be expected to report to the DC office in 2 weeks. She was given those two weeks to find a place in DC and move before she reported for duty.

* * *

><p>Now, a year later, Emily was working in the DC office, mostly at a desk but also in the field whenever possible. She wanted field experience now that she was in DC. She had started applying for every open slot in the BAU about two months after she moved to DC. So far, no luck.<p>

It was almost 3 in the afternoon when Emily noticed a new email in her inbox. It was marked important and was from someone named Strauss. Emily opened it and she had to mask her excitement when she read the email. It was her dream come true, her transfer to the BAU, effective November 13, 2006.

Emily couldn't believe it, she was finally getting her chance to find the answers she searched for, for so long. But first, she had to prove herself to the team to gain acceptance.

Emily went home that day and she looked up the recent cases that the BAU had been involved in as well as a few that were pending. She was determined to walk into her meeting with the unit leader fully prepared.

* * *

><p>The night before she was to report to the BAU, Emily had dinner with Katie at her condo. It was their weekend tradition and Emily loved having this time with her daughter.<p>

They were eating in the living room as they watched Law and Order episodes from Emily's DVR. In the lull between episodes, Katie turned to her mom, **"So, tomorrow's the big day huh?"**

Emily smiled at her daughter, **"Yeah. Can't wait."**

Katie smiled, she'd known for a while that her mom wanted to join the elite BAU and she was happy for her. She bit her lip after a moment as she thought about how to ask what she really wanted to know. Finally she just bit the bullet and asked, **"Are you, um…are you still going to look into…the case?" **Katie avoided mentioning Daphne's name to her mom whenever possible. It was really the only thing she'd seen so far that could crack her mother's calm facade She didn't exactly remember the woman who'd been her mother's best friend, but she'd heard stories about her from her grandpa, and she'd seen pictures of her with her mom and with her when she was just a year old and she'd seen the papers her mom had often left out my mistake.

Something about this Daphne woman had stayed with her mom all these years and she wondered if the questions her mom had would ever be answered.

Emily turned to face her daughter and just nodded, **"Yes I am. This transfer doesn't change that, if anything it will make the search easier since the BAU has more access to information than any other branch of the FBI. But, I'll also be working the active cases with the team so I won't have time to lose myself again. I promise honey, I won't disappear again." ** Emily had never physically disappeared but there'd been a few weeks where she thought she had a solid lead and she had lost herself in the case and hadn't been there for Katie. Luckily, it wasn't for very long and she had managed to repair any damage to their relationship.

Katie nodded, knowing her mom was being honest. She grinned in an effort to lighten the mood, **"So does this mean I get to call you Emily again?"**

Emily chuckled. In order to keep her private life to herself, whenever it couldn't be avoided and Katie had met some of her co-workers, Emily had introduced Katie as her sister. When Katie heard Emily do that, she knew to call her Emily and not reveal the truth. But if Emily introduced her as her daughter, she knew she could call her mom.

They had established their 'code' when Katie was 7 and starting school. Most times, Emily was open about their relationship but occasionally, usually with people she worked with, Emily felt the need to hide their true connection. Katie had taken it in stride, understanding even at a young age that sometimes it was better to lie than have to explain the truth. Plus, she got to call her mom by her first name and she thought that was cool.

**"If the time ever comes when you have to meet someone from the BAU, you might have to fall back on that old habit. But I'll try not to make that happen too soon, okay?"**

Katie nodded, **"Okay mom."**

After that, they went back to enjoying their mini marathon until it was time to go to bed. Katie usually crashed at Emily's Sunday night and went right to class from there. She had her own bedroom and a full closet of clothes.

They said their good nights and turned in. Emily lay down and sighed, a little nervous about the next day and meeting the BAU members for the first time. She was walking into an established team that worked very well together and now she was going to have to prove herself and prove she belonged there. It was a daunting task but she was up for it. There was no going back now, she was determined to see this through to the end. She just hoped the unit chief wasn't a dickhead who would resent a new team member…especially a woman.

TBC…

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><p><strong>AN: So...what do you all think? Let me know. More to come hopefully soon. <strong>

**Acathla**


	12. Chapter 11

**AN: Wow two updates in two days! The muse is loving this story and the feedback feeds her to keep it coming. Here it is...the chapter where Emily meets JJ. I wrote that part before I wrote even the beginning part so I had to retweak a few things to account for some things I hadn't originally planned for. Oh well...this version is a bit better. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 11<span>**

The next morning, Emily was up and dressed and out the door by nine am. Katie watched her leave with a smile on her face. It was rare to see her mom even a little bit nervous so this was a treat for her. She was glad her first class wasn't until eleven so she could take her time getting ready.

Emily grabbed the small banker's box that contained the few personal items she liked to keep at her desk out of the passenger seat of her Mustang and made her way into the federal building which housed the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit.

She stepped off the elevator and, luckily, caught a tall, dark skinned man on his way inside the glass doors and he held it open for her with a polite smile. Emily thanked him, asked him where the unit chief's office was and headed in the direction the man had pointed.

Emily reached the door and, after putting a friendly smile on her face looked up at the name plaque and she relaxed only a tiny bit when she recognized the name: _SSA Aaron Hotchner. _

Emily balanced the box on her hip so she could free up a hand to knock on the door.

**"Come in." **A deep, serious voice called from the other side of the door.

Emily opened the door and, smiling, said, **"Hi, Agent Hotchner?"**

**"Yes." **The man looked up and Emily remembered what he looked like so long ago. He had aged well.

Emily placed the box on the corner of his desk and held out her hand, **"I'm Agent Emily Prentiss."**

**"How do you do?" **Agent Hotchner shook her hand, a little confused as to who she was and why she was there but he soon remembered why her name was familiar. **"Oh, you're Ambassador Prentiss' daughter. I did security clearances for your mother's staff, it was one of my first commands. I believe you were about to go off to…Brown at the time, I think."**

**"Actually, it was Princeton." ** Agent Hotchner nodded at the correction but didn't say anything. **"I've been in the Bureau for almost 12 years now."**

Agent Hotchner seemed to do the math in his head and he chuckled at how long it had been, "**Don't tell me that, has it been that long?"**

**"Apparently, sir. But I worked mostly in the New Jersey office, until a year ago when I transferred to the DC office."**

**"Good." ** Hotchner stopped, not sure what to else to say, then he thought to ask, **"Are your parents well?"**

**"Yeah, they're great." ** Emily was starting to get a weird feeling from this conversation but she decided to see where it went before she said anything about it.

**"Good, and your sister, Katie if I remember correct." **He was scrambling for something to say, something he usually didn't do but he still wasn't sure what she was doing there and he was hoping she would say what it was before he had to ask.

**"Katie's fine too." **Emily didn't even pause as she answered, willing to let him go on thinking Katie was her sister for now. **"She's a sophomore at Georgetown."**

**"That's a good school. Your parents must be so proud."** He paused a moment then finally just decided to ask, **"So, what can I do for you?"**

That weird vibe just got stronger but Emily played it out, **"I guess I was hoping you could tell me where to put my things." ** She gestured to the box.

Hotchner noticed the box and frowned, **"I'm sorry?"**

Emily now realized he probably hadn't been told she was coming in today. Undeterred, she reached for the folder with her transfer paperwork as she explained, **"I'm supposed to start here, today at the BAU." ** She handed him the folder.

Hotchner took the folder and began to open it as he said, **"There's been a mistake."**

**"I don't think so sir."**

**"There's definitely been a mistake."** He repeats as he reads further into the papers. In the lull, the door opened and a blond woman came into the office.

Emily turned to the door and she was momentarily stunned. For a split second, she thought the woman was Daphne, the resemblance was uncanny. But then she looked again and realized there were subtle but obvious differences and she relaxed a bit as she listened to the woman talk to Hotchner.

**"Oh, excuse me," **Agent Jennifer Jareau hadn't known her boss had someone in his office and she apologized to the woman before she addressed her boss, **"We're getting started."**

**'Thank you I'll be right there." **Hotchner dismissed the blonde and Emily's eyes met bright blue ones as she noticed the woman noticing her and smiling for before she left the office.

Emily turned back to Hotchner when he began to talk as he handed her the folder back and walked towards the office door. **"I didn't approve this transfer Agent Prentiss. I'm sorry for the confusion but you've been misinformed. Excuse me, it was very good to see you again." ** With that he left the office and began walking down the catwalk that connected the offices on the upper level from the main bullpen.

Emily grabbed the box and followed him but stopped at the doorway to the office as she saw him meet up with another older gentleman. Despite their low voices, Emily could still hear them clearly.

**"Did you approve a new transfer?"**

Jason Gideon looked down the hall at the woman standing in Hotch's office and then back to Hotch. **"No, I would've discussed it with you."**

The men began walking towards the conference room, but Emily could still hear them and she wondered why she was transferred without the team leader's approval.

**"She has the paperwork to join the team."**

**"Do you want me to make a call?"**

**"No, I'll look into it."**

Emily watched as they disappeared into a room on the other side of the bullpen and she sighed. She carefully left the BAU offices to put her box back into her car. She sat in the driver's seat for a moment and considered finding the office of the Agent who had sent her the email about her transfer, Section Chief Erin Strauss to find out why her transfer hadn't been discussed with the BAU's unit leader but she decided against it. For all she knew, this Strauss woman could've been messing with her, or the email could've been a mistake, intended for someone else or for a different unit altogether. Emily decided to wait it out for a day or two, give Agent Hotchner a chance to look into the transfer before she tried again.

Emily drove home then, since until this was cleared up there wasn't much she could do, and dropped her box off before heading out again to grab an early lunch. She kept her cell phone on her in case Agent Hotchner called her.

* * *

><p>Emily waited two days before she went back to the BAU to talk to Agent Hotchner and find out of he'd confirmed her transfer. When she got there, she was met by a young agent named Anderson who told her the team was in St. Louis on a case. Emily gave him her cell number and Agent Anderson promised to let her know when the team was coming back.<p>

Emily left then, knowing there was nothing more she could do until the team returned and she could get this transfer cleared up.

* * *

><p>That night, Emily invited Katie over for dinner, promising her favorite dish if she'd spend the evening with her 'old mom'. Katie didn't even need the bribe of the food, she loved spending time with her mom.<p>

Katie was sitting on the couch after dinner, lasagna, drinking a glass of iced tea while Emily sat in the arm chair drinking a glass of wine.

**"So mom, what's going on with your new assignment? What's the BAU like?" **Katie was curious because her mom hadn't talked about it yet and she was used to her mom talking to her about everything.

Emily looked down into her glass, **"There was a bit of a…miscommunication I guess and the unit leader hadn't been told I was transferring in so he's being resistant to the idea. I have to wait until he makes some calls and clears it up before I can start there."**

Katie frowned, **"But, you told him on Monday that you were supposed to start there right? It's Wednesday, I mean I know the government is slow but surely it's not that hard to make a phone call to the higher ups to clear this up." ** Katie was confused and a little offended on behalf of her mom that she was being made to wait in limbo until the unit leader got off his ass and did something.

Emily grinned, touched by the tone in Katie's voice, the concern and slight indignation. **"It's not that easy. Monday the team was called away to St. Louis for a case. They've been there this whole time and I am guessing there's been precious little time to worry about a new transfer while they are trying to find a serial killer, honey." **Emily shrugged her shoulders, **"I can be patient, and I have plenty to keep me busy so don't worry about me okay?"**

**"That's easier said than done mom but I'll try. But still…you shouldn't just wait around for this guy to decide your fate. You should go there when they get back and fight for what's yours." **Katie knew this was her mom's dream job and she wanted her to have it.

Emily thought about that for a moment then revealed, **"Well, that's kind of the plan. I have someone on the inside so to speak who is going to text me when the team is on their way back so I can go see the unit leader Agent Hotchner, as soon as he gets back. Maybe if he's tired enough I can get him to listen long enough to see that I belong in that unit."**

Katie smiled, **"That's the mom I know and love."**

The rest of the evening was spent watching television until Katie decided it was time to head back to the dorms. Emily hugged her goodbye and she locked up after her car pulled away from the building.

Emily soon headed to bed after placing their glasses in the dishwasher and setting the coffee maker for the next morning.

* * *

><p>Thursday morning, Emily went about her usual routine and around 11, she got a text from Agent Anderson letting her know the team would be back that evening by 5. Emily smiled as she formed her game plan for convincing Agent Hotchner to give her a chance to prove she belonged on the team.<p>

That afternoon, around 2:30, Emily walked into the BAU and slipped into Agent Hotchner's office. She sat on the couch as she waited for him, arriving early so as not to miss him. About an hour later, Anderson came into the office to drop off a file, Emily smiled as she took it from him.

She read it, studied the details and began to formulate a profile for the guy who had killed 11 women so far and didn't show any signs of stopping.

A few hours later, the door opened again and Emily looked up to see Agent Hotchner walk into his office. She stayed quiet until he noticed her. When he did, he didn't seem surprised but he asked, **"Please tell me you haven't been there for the last four days."**

Emily gave a small smile, **"I heard you were flying back tonight."**

**"Heard? How could you have heard a thing like that?"** Hotchner was starting to wonder about the security of the building and its agents. The drama with Randall Gardner and Elle was still fresh in his mind.

Emily ignored the question, not wanting to get Anderson into any trouble, instead she handed the folder to him, **"This was dropped off earlier today."**

Hotchner took the file then looked at Agent Prentiss, **"I appreciate your interest Agent, but profiling is a specialty. We can't just let anyone who wants to, give it a whirl."**

Emily noticed her chance to prove this wasn't just a 'whirl', **"The I-80 killer? Co-eds in Indiana."**

**"Yes, I read it on the plane."**

**"They aren't blitz attacks. This guy is organized. He's a white male in his 30s and a smooth talker because even after 11 victims, he can still convince educated women who know there's a predator out there to get into his car."**

Hotchner studied her a moment as he thought about her assessment, from what he read of the file on the plane, she seemed to be spot on so far. **"How would you advise the police?" **Hotchner decided to test her execution now, she had proven she could profile.

Emily took a second then said, **"I would stake out the Ranch House, a nightclub in Gary. They have a very popular ladies night on Thursdays. If you look closely you'll see that 8 out of the 11 victims went missing on a Friday morning, which means something gets this creep's motor running on Thursdays." **Emily paused a moment for a breath, **"This isn't a whirl Agent Hotchner. I don't know how the paperwork got screwed up, or maybe you believe my parents pulled some strings, which they didn't by the way. I belong in this unit and all I am asking you for is the chance to show you that."**

Hotchner took a few moments to think about that, sensing that she was telling the truth about her parents and the transfer. He decided to give her a chance, but he was still going to look into it. **"I still need to look into this. I'm not promising anything."**

**"Understood."**

**"We brief new cases at 10am every morning. You can see facilities management about a desk."**

Emily smiled, realizing she was getting her chance. **"You won't be sorry sir." ** She grabbed her box that she'd brought with her and left the office. Tomorrow she would see about securing a desk. For now, she went home, stopping by her favorite Italian restaurant to pick up some quick take out before heading home.

* * *

><p>The next morning, she reported to the Facilities Management Office and was assigned a desk in the bullpen. She had just settled her things when she got a text from Agent Hotchner telling her she had to see Agent Jareau to go over the policies and procedures for the unit before she could join the case briefings.<p>

Emily stood up and, after finding and asking Anderson where Jareau's office was, she headed out of the glass doors and down the hall towards the office she was told belonged to Agent Jareau, the BAU's Communications Liaison. She hoped the meeting didn't last too long, she had never been a fan of rules and regulations.

Emily reached the door and saw it was open, she glanced inside and was about to announce her presence when she realized it was the blonde from Monday. Emily wondered if this was to be her penance for thinking ill of the rules.

* * *

><p>Emily stood in the doorway of Agent Jennifer Jareau's office and silently studied the beautiful blonde as she waited for her to lift her eyes from her paperwork and acknowledge her existence. Agent Jareau was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but she also had an air of competence about her that Emily found very attractive. It was the slight resemblance she bore to Daphne that was holding her back for the moment.<p>

Emily had finally accepted that her best friend, and one time lover, wasn't coming back during her sophomore year of college and since then she'd had a few girlfriends but no one serious. No one had ever really captured her attention, much less her heart, since Daphne had all those years ago. But she had learned to let that portion of her past go and move on with her life, but being a single mom kind of put a damper on most relationships, not that Emily really minded. She knew she probably wasn't cut out for long term relationships, her devotion to Katie always overshadowed trivial things like relationships. Still, it didn't mean that she couldn't appreciate a beautiful woman…like the blonde she was currently looking at.

Jennifer Jareau, JJ to everyone she met, was acutely aware that she was being watched. She was actually pretty used to it by now. Working with a team of brilliant profilers had taught her to ignore the long looks that usually meant she was being studied and in all likelihood, profiled. After letting it go on for a few more minutes, both to allow her observer to get a good look and to also finish up her assessment of the case file in front of her, JJ looked up with a smile at the brunette who was standing in her doorway.

**"Good morning, you must be Agent Prentiss. Please come in and have a seat." **Hotch had told her last night that he was sending her a new agent to brief on the protocols and procedures of the BAU. It was in fact, part of her job to make sure any new team members knew how things were done on this team as opposed to the other BAU teams.

Emily walked into the office and sat down in the chair across from the desk. She smiled as she said, **"Please, call me Emily."**

JJ gave a slight nod, **"Welcome to the BAU Emily. As you may already know, my name is Jennifer Jareau but everyone calls me JJ. I'm the Communications Liaison for the BAU."**

**"It's nice to meet you, JJ." **Emily had a strong urge to call her Jennifer but she realized that it might not be welcome so she stuck with JJ.

JJ smiled, **"Likewise. Now, it is my job to brief you on the protocols and procedures for our team. The BAU currently has three teams working on cases. Each team has its own Liaison and its own set of protocols and procedures that set it apart from the others while still adhering to the FBI standard." ** JJ paused a moment to let that sink in then she said, **"Basically it means that each team has its own way of doing things but we all follow FBI standards." **

Emily nodded, sensing that JJ wasn't done explaining.

JJ took Emily's nod as a sign to continue. **"So, I'll try to keep this simple as there aren't a lot of rules on our team and I am sure you are already aware of the FBI standards, yes?"**

Emily nodded again.

**"Right. So, here it is in plain English. We brief new cases every morning at 10am, unless we are in the field. You are required to have a go bag ready at all times as we are usually called to a scene at a moment's notice and there's never time to run home and pack something. We have a private jet that we use to travel all over the country to wherever a case takes us, so hopefully flying won't be a problem for you. When the team is not on location on a case, you will be assigned minor cases that only require a consultation and a working profile. It can be done at your desk and then faxed over to the local LEOs in charge of the case. Any questions so far?" ** JJ stopped, wanting to give Emily a chance to ask anything that she needed to.

Emily thought about it and then asked, **"yeah, do the consultation profiles have to be cleared by the team leader before they are faxed over?"**

JJ smiled, **"No, that's not required, but if you want to run it by him you can, as long as he's not busy." ** JJ paused before she began the other part of her briefing, **"there is currently a moratorium on intra-team profiling. I know that it's probably second nature by now to profile everyone you meet, however, because of how closely we work together, it was decided that unless you notice something illegal or life threatening about a team member's behavior, keep any profiling to yourself. It allows for everyone to have at least a small measure of privacy."**

Emily nodded, understanding that sometimes, being profiled by those you work with can be a bit annoying. **"Makes sense."**

JJ smiled. **"One other thing, Penelope Garcia is our technical analyst. We rely on her for a lot of our information and she is the best at what she does," **JJ paused, wondering how to best describe her best friend, **"she's also…not your standard FBI-issue analyst. She's…unique. I'm telling you because it can sometimes be a bit of a shock the first time you meet her."**

**"Okay. Is she…deformed or something?" **Emily couldn't figure out why JJ was telling her about the analyst unless there was something physically wrong with her.

JJ almost laughed out loud at that, **"No! Nothing like that. She just has her own sense of style and she's a very…bubbly person. Not everyone can handle someone who is that bubbly and happy who also wears loud colors."**

Emily nodded, finally figuring out what JJ was trying to tell her, **"I see…well not to worry. I tend to not judge people by their exteriors. It's what's inside that counts with me. It shouldn't be a problem." **

**"Good. That's good." **JJ paused a moment, trying to think of anything else that she might've missed. ** "I think that just about covers everything. Is there anything you want to ask that I haven't covered?"**

Emily thought about it for a few moments, trying to think of anything that the pretty blonde hadn't already explained. **"No I think you covered everything. But if I do have any questions later on, can I come to you?"**

**"Of course, anytime." **JJ smiled at that, feeling an odd warmth in her belly at the thought of Emily coming to her with any questions she might have later on, rather than asking one of the other agents. She liked the idea that Emily might be different from the others in that she wouldn't be afraid to admit there was something she didn't know or couldn't figure out on her own. **"Oh, one last thing. On days when we're not off somewhere else, we usually get off around 5 or 6. Occasionally, the team will go out for drinks after work to unwind. It's not mandatory but it's usually a good time."**

Emily smiled, **"Sounds like fun. I'll keep it in mind." **Emily knew though, that it probably wouldn't happen for a while. The team would have to get to know her first and she'd have to prove herself to them before they would invite her along for drinks. She didn't mind, she knew she was good at what she did and that she was a damn good profiler. She just had to prove it to the team. Plus, she'd have to make sure Katie wasn't planning to swing by her apartment the same night she got invited out.

After a few moments of JJ gathering the paperwork that Emily would need to fill out in order to officially become a member of the BAU, Emily left the small office, papers in hand, and went back to her desk. That night she when she went home she prepared a go bag to have ready just in case.

Emily went to bed that night with a smile on her face. Tomorrow was Saturday and unless something major happened, she was going to spend the weekend with her daughter before she began her first official week with the BAU.

TBC…

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><p><strong>AN: So...thought? Questions? Emily and JJ have finally met and, as promised, JJ entered the story exactly as she was meant to, when she was meant to. We never saw the protocols meeting JJ mentioned in Lessons Learned but I think it might've gone something like this. <strong>

**Acathla**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Emily had been working for two days when the team was given a new case. Emily, without thinking, took the paper with the Arabic message on it and translated it out loud. When she was finished, she looked up at the team sitting around the table looking at her in surprise, Garcia she noted, also looked a little impressed.

Emily said, modestly, **"I lived in a few Middle Eastern countries growing up." **

The team nodded and continued the briefing and Hotchner decided that Gideon and Reid would go to Guantanamo Bay to interview the ghost detainee they had there that was tied to the terrorist safehouse the police had raided earlier that day.

Emily headed to her desk and pulled out her go bag and set it on her desk. Something told her that, given her display of fluency in Arabic, Hotchner might try to test her skill by sending her with Gideon and Reid.

Sure enough, Emily soon found herself heading for the SVU that would take them to the airstrip to board the jet they used for cases.

Emily was settled into the backseat, having happily given up the front seat to the young Dr. Reid, and once they were on the road, she took out her cell phone and dialed Katie's number. When Katie's voicemail came on, Emily began to leave a message, **_"Hey honey, I'm just calling to let you know that I have to go out of the country for maybe a day or two for work. I'll call you as soon as I get back. Take care, I love you." _**Emily hung up the phone and looked forward only to notice Reid looking at her. She didn't smile or nod, she just looked right back at him.

Dr. Spencer Reid hadn't meant to eavesdrop on the phone call in the back seat but he had still heard the message. He silently wondered to himself who Emily had been calling to inform of her plans to be out of the country. He would never ask her, because even he knew that wasn't socially acceptable given how short a time he'd known this new agent, but he was still curious. He spent the rest of the ride to the plane coming up with various explanations for who Emily called, but the most obvious one was that Emily had called her boyfriend to inform him of her absence. The loving tone in her voice ruled out a parent or even a roommate or friend. Spencer didn't know why the thought of Emily having a boyfriend made him frown and he decided not to dwell on that.

Emily sat on the plane to Cuba watching Gideon and Reid playing chess and mentally playing Reid's end of the game, since Gideon was clearly the better player. In her mental version of the game, there were already three moves Reid had made that she wouldn't have, and in her game, she would've beaten Gideon in two moves by the time the plane banked a hard left to land at the GITMO airstrip.

* * *

><p>Katie Prentiss walked into her dorm room after her last class and dropped her bookbag onto her bed. She reached for the cellphone she had forgotten on her desk that morning and noticed she had two missed calls and two new voicemails.<p>

As she kicked off her shoes and got comfy on her bed to rest for a few minutes before starting on her homework, she checked her voicemail. The first one was from her mom and she frowned when she heard that her mom was going out of the country for a day or two. She knew that meant she couldn't call her so she hoped that nothing happened to her wherever she was going.

The second message was from her grandmother, who had a house in D.C near the Capitol building. **_"Katie, honey it's your grandmother. I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight. I have something I'd like to discuss with you. Call me any time before six to let me know if you can or if we need to reschedule. Love you!"_**

Katie smiled, she loved spending time with her grandparents and since her mom was out of town, she wasn't busy tonight. She checked her watch and noticed it was only five so she called her grandmother back and let her know she would be at her place by six.

Katie decided that, since her grandmother lived close to her mom's place, she would bring her books and stuff with her and crash at her mother's place after dinner. She'd seen a few fliers in the halls advertising a dorm party for later that night and she did not want to be here when that started. Katie wasn't your typical college student. She much preferred to spend her time studying and hanging out with her small circle of friends or her mom than getting drunk at some party.

So, she quickly changed her clothes to something more suitable for dinner with her grandparents and she grabbed her books and was out of the dorms by five-thirty. She arrived at her grandparents' house with ten minutes to spare and smiled as she hugged them both when her grandfather opened the door.

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><p>A few hours later, after dinner had been eaten, Katie and Elizabeth retired to the home office that her grandmother kept at the house while her grandfather had adjourned to his study to work on his next book for a bit before heading to bed.<p>

Katie was sitting in one of the armchairs next to the fireplace and Elizabeth sat across from her. For a few moments, they just sat in silence, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the silence of the room.

Elizabeth cleared her throat and began, **"Katie, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."**

Katie turned to her grandmother, curious, **"What is it Nana?" ** Katie still used the name she used to call her grandmother when she was a child.

Elizabeth smiled at hearing the pet name, **"As you know, Christina is going to be taking maternity leave in two weeks. I was wondering if you would be interested in filling in for her while she's gone?" **Christina was Elizabeth's personal assistant and the woman was about to take her leave to have her first child. Elizabeth saw this as an opportunity for Katie to see if she could see herself in the diplomatic arena. She had hoped that Emily would one day follow in her footsteps and join the state department but when that didn't happen, she started to think maybe Katie would be her legacy.

Katie thought about her grandmother's offer. She already knew she didn't want to have a job in politics, but she would also love the chance to spend more time with her grandmother. **"Um, that sounds like a great opportunity Nana but I think I should probably talk it over with mom first. Is that okay?"**

Elizabeth smiled, knowing how close Emily and Katie were. **"Of course. You have two weeks to decide. Just let me know as soon as you can, so that I can have time to find someone if you decide not to take the job, okay?"**

Katie nodded, **"Okay." **Katie then realized the time, **"Oh wow, it's getting late and I should really get going. Thank you for dinner Nana."**

Elizabeth thought about asking Katie to spend the night there, but she knew her granddaughter valued her independence so she simply walked her to the front door and hugged her goodnight before watching her get into her car and drive away.

* * *

><p>Katie let herself into her mom's condo a few minutes later and, after locking up for the night, she climbed the steps and headed to the room her mom kept for her here. She flopped down on the bed and pulled out her books and notebook and began working on the assignments she needed to finish for her classes the next day.<p>

Katie worked into the night and passed out among her books. It wasn't the first time and when she woke up the next morning with a stiff neck she knew it wouldn't be the last time.

Katie was in the kitchen waiting for the coffee to brew while she made toast with jam when the door opened and her mom walked into the apartment.

Emily jumped a little when she saw Katie in her kitchen but she soon relaxed and smiled at her daughter. **"Hey sweetie, what are you doing here?"**

Katie grinned at her mom, **"There was a party at the dorms and I needed a quiet place so I came here." **Katie knew her mom wouldn't have minded, she had her own key after all. **"So, how was the…um…business trip?" ** Katie wasn't sure what to call her mom's last minute trip so she settled for something safe and simple.

Emily grinned, **"It was…a challenge but in the end it worked out okay so…yeah. No regrets."**

Katie nodded, **"Good. I'm glad. Hey you want some breakfast? I have a late morning class so I can make you something real while you shower and change." **Katie sensed that there was more her mom wasn't saying and that it had taken its toll on her so she wanted to do something nice for her.

Emily softened, **"Actually that would be great, if you're sure you have the time that is."**

Katie just grinned, **"I'm sure. Go on upstairs and get changed for work. I'll have your breakfast ready when you get back down here." ** Katie waved in the direction of the stairs.

Emily went upstairs and took a quick shower before she dressed for the day. She was supposed to be back at the BAU by ten am to hand in her report on what happened in GITMO.

Emily made it back downstairs twenty minutes later and smiled when she saw the plates on the table that held pancakes, sausage, toast and scrambled eggs. The glass of orange juice sat next to the mug of coffee and Emily couldn't help chuckle to herself. Katie's idea of breakfast always had to include orange juice and toast. Everything else was optional.

Emily sat at the table with her daughter and they both enjoyed their breakfast together. Emily felt like it was going to be a good day today as she felt her misgivings about this last case melt away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is a short chapter, but I wanted to show a little bit more of the KatieEmily relationship. For the record though, Emily lucked out in that Katie never really went through the usual teenage rebellion. (Which might mean she's overdue for it...hmmm)**


	14. Chapter 13

**AN: It's been a few weeks but hey, that's shorter than most of the my other stories have to wait for an update. Got a little busy with life and stuff. Anyway, here it is. Hope it lives up to the wait.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

A few weeks passed as Emily began to settle in with the team. She quickly got the hang of the consults and she was able to give accurate and quick assessments of the files she was assigned. The team traveled on a few cases and Emily soon became comfortable enough around the team to voice her insights...especially when they were called to Chicago to help find the real culprit behind the murder of a few boys that Derek Morgan was being accused of killing.

Emily had wanted, on more than one occasion, to smack the local detectives on the case for their obvious bias and obstinate refusal to consider anyone but Derek for the murders. But she restrained herself and was happy to be able to help figure out the truth and catch the real killer.

The information that she, inadvertently, had learned about Derek and his past made her heart ache for the little boy he had been, scared and alone with no one to confide in about what was happening to him. At the same time though, she respected his need for privacy about this so she didn't mention it. She made like she hadn't heard him ranting to the killer and she simply went about her job.

When they returned to the BAU, Emily just nodded to the tall man and left, it was almost eight o'clock at night when they arrived in Virginia and Hotch told them to just go home.

Emily went home and took a shower before falling asleep in her comfortable bed.

* * *

><p>A few days after the Chicago case, Emily was in the break room getting a coffee when she saw JJ walking through the bullpen and up towards Hotch's office holding a thick stack of files in her arms. Emily felt her heart speed up at the sight of the pretty blonde but then it sank a little at the knowledge that all those files meant they had another case.<p>

Emily had accepted that she had a small crush on JJ back in Chicago when she was so protective of Derek, she resembled a tiny pit bull who would maul you with cuteness if you tried to harm her friends. Emily knew she was falling for the blonde and she also knew she didn't stand any kind of chance with her, since JJ was most likely straight, but it didn't stop her from having feelings for her.

Emily and the others soon filed into the conference room to hear about their next case and where they would be flying off to this time.

* * *

><p>On the plane to Nevada, Emily had to make a conscious effort not to react to the pictures of the remains of the victims of their latest serial killer; the most prolific serial killer ever, according to Gideon. There was something about this case that was getting to her but she couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly.<p>

They landed and Emily went with Reid to the local police station while Gideon, Hotch, and Morgan went to the crime scene to study the remains that were found. Right away, Emily and Reid noticed the atmosphere in the police station as less than welcoming and, while it personally unnerved her, Emily swallowed her own misgivings and offered the younger agent a placating explanation as to why there didn't seem to be much love for them at the station.

Before too long, Emily was immersed in the case and finding that it was taking almost everything she had to keep from throwing up or worse, every time they learned something new about this killer.

This guy, Frank, drugged his female victims and made them watch via a mirror above them, as he cut them open and dismembered them until they mercifully died at his hand. It was a horrific way to die and Emily knew it would give her nightmares for weeks after they wrapped this case.

When they realized that Frank had hijacked a school bus full of the town's children as leverage to make them hand over the one victim he hadn't killed, Emily tried but couldn't see how they could avoid giving in to his demands.

She watched, helpless, as Gideon got into the SUV with Frank and Jane, his only living victim and the woman he had convinced himself he was in love with even though as a sexual sadist he was incapable of feeling love, and drove off to where she and everyone else hoped the kids were waiting. Emily could only offer a silent prayer as she waited to see how it would turn out.

* * *

><p>The flight back to Virginia was quiet as they each got lost in their thoughts. Emily looked around and realized she missed seeing JJ on the plane. She had stayed behind at Quantico with Garcia to work on the geographical profile. Emily, even in the short time she was with the BAU, had grown accustomed to seeing the younger blonde on the plane with them.<p>

They landed in Virginia and piled into the waiting SUVs for the trip back to the office. It was still early enough that they could put in a few hours finishing up their reports before heading home.

Emily had barely sat down at her desk when she heard Hotch call her name. She stood up and turned towards the voice, "**Yes sir?"**

Hotch gave a small grin, "**You can cut the sir bit Emily. It's Hotch. I need to see you in my office please."**

Emily nodded, "**Of course Hotch."**

Emily walked towards his office, confused as to what he might want while mentally reviewing everything she'd done on this last case to try to figure out what he was about to call her on to the carpet for. She couldn't come up with anything so she mentally braced herself and walked into his office.

Hotch was sitting at his desk and he motioned with his hand towards the chairs in front of his desk, indicating he wanted her to sit. Emily sat down and waited for Hotch to speak.

Hotch cleared his throat then said, "**Emily, did you mother ever tell you about the…side project…she asked me to do while I was working with her?"**

Emily frowned as she thought back to the time when Hotch had been assigned to work on her mother's staff's security clearances. "**No she didn't, why?" ** Emily had a feeling she knew what the older man was going to say but she didn't want to tip her hand just yet.

Hotch's shoulders tensed a moment before relaxing. "**I assume that you remember, the summer before you went off to…Princeton, was it?" **At Emily's nod, he continued, "**that summer, your best friend Daphne Morris, disappeared correct?"**

"**Yeah, she was driving from New Jersey to California to attend Stanford, why? What are you trying to tell me?" **Emily suddenly got a bad feeling in her stomach as her brain raced ahead of the older agent.

Hotch cleared his throat again. "**When it was clear that the girl hadn't reached her destination, your mother asked me to look into it, use my Bureau contacts and resources to try to find her." ** He paused a moment, his hand unconsciously moving to rest on a file folder, "**unfortunately, the trail went cold just outside of Reno, Nevada. There was a hotel room and a cash advance on her credit card and then…nothing. Until last week, there were no leads, no clues and no closure. Before her father passed away, he entered Daphne's DNA into the system by filing a new missing persons report. Last week, there was a hit on the DNA profile." ** Hotch looked down at the folder on his desk, "**Since both her parents are now deceased, you are the next of kin, as listed on the recent report her father filed. He named you as the next of kin after himself. So it falls to me to inform you that…Daphne Morris' remains were found three weeks ago and the DNA was confirmed last week." **Hotch took a breath before he continued, "**Emily, the body was missing the lower right rib bone."**

Emily took in what Hotch had just told her and she was stunned. She knew what the rib bone meant and she realized that Daphne, her best friend, her first love, had been one of the many victims of Frank...the serial killer they had just let get away.

Emily felt herself go numb, she knew the full grief would hit her later, in the privacy of her own home, but right now she was just numb. Unbidden, her mind conjured up an image of Daphne as she had last seen her...smiling and standing in her driveway as they kissed goodbye and Daphne promised she would be back the following summer to continue what they had started in that cabin on graduation night.

Emily looked up at Hotch, who was sitting there quiet and patiently waiting for her to process the news. She could hear her voice crack a tiny bit as she asked, "**This has been confirmed, it's really her?"**

Hotch just nodded, not really knowing what, if anything, he could say to soften the blow or make things better.

Suddenly, Emily's upbringing kicked in and she sat up straighter and her face became a shuttered mask of neutrality as she asked, "**When can they release the remains? I want to give her a proper burial."**

Hotch, confused about the sudden change but deciding to go with it as it was easier to deal with the practicality of the situation rather than the emotions of the moment, answered, "**The local medical examiner has released the remains and they can be shipped to the funeral home of your choice. There's a form you'll have to sign before I can release the remains to you but that's just a formality. I truly am sorry Emily. I had hoped for a happier resolution to this matter."**

Emily turned to Hotch from her inspection of the corner of his desk, "**Really? After seventeen years?" **Emily sighed, "**Sometime around my senior year of college I finally accepted that Daphne was most likely dead. I grieved and I moved on. I stopped hoping for a happy ending a long time ago Hotch. All I ever hoped for was to at least find her body and lay her to rest. I can do that now. But thank you for everything you've done."**

Hotch just nodded, moved by the strength of spirit it must've taken for someone as young as Emily had been, 21 or 22, when she accepted her friend's probable death...and to live with that uncertainty for so many years and not let it rule your whole life, took a strong person. Hotch's estimation of Emily went up a few notches in that moment. He handed her the folder which contained the paperwork she needed to sign to have Daphne's remains shipped to her for proper burial.

Emily signed the papers and stood to leave, "**Thank you Hotch."**

"**Emily, take the rest of the day off, go home and…I don't know, grieve all over again maybe? Your report from the Golconda case can wait until tomorrow, okay?"**

Emily was about to protest but realized that he was right. She may have accepted Daphne's most likely death years ago, but this had brought it all back up. She could use the time off to really process it...plus she didn't want to be in the office when her mental compartments broke open and the emotional torrent began. "**Thanks, I'll take you up on that. I'll see you tomorrow?"**

Hotch nodded, saying nothing.

Emily left his office and went to her desk and gathered her things. She made it all the way to the elevator before someone stopped her.

"**Hey, Emily, where are you off to?"**

Emily turned to face the person who had stopped her and immediately felt herself falling into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. "**Hey JJ, something personal came up and Hotch let me go home early. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"**

JJ's eyes filled with concern, "**Is everything okay? Is there anything I can do?"**

Emily sadly shook her head, in that moment, with her eyes shining with caring and concern, JJ reminded her far too much of Daphne and Emily couldn't handle it. Luckily, the elevator chose that moment to arrive and Emily grabbed her escape, "**It's nothing I can't handle JJ. Thanks for offering. I'll see you tomorrow, good bye." ** Emily watched the elevator doors close and she slumped against the side wall. Her emotions were starting to push at the walls of her brain, begging to be released. Emily pulled out her cell phone and sent a text to her parents and to Katie...she really needed them with her right now and she was once again thankful that her parents were living in DC right now. Her mom was between assignments so she was working out of the DC office and her father could write anywhere and he chose to be close to his family.

Emily made it to her condo and she immediately opened a bottle of wine and got three glasses out before pouring one and moving to the sofa. Her parents and her daughter would be there soon and Emily knew she'd need to have at least one glass of wine in her before she could tell them about Daphne. It wasn't something she was looking forward to but she knew it had to be done. Her parents had seen Daphne as a second daughter and Katie, though she didn't remember Daphne, had grown up looking at pictures and hearing about her mother's best friend. Katie knew Daphne, if only through Emily's stories, and she deserved to know the truth as well.

After an hour of sitting alone in her condo, the door opened and Katie walked in followed by Emily's parents. Emily watched as they entered and got settled into the living room. When everyone had a drink in hand, Katie being the only one without alcohol because she was only 19 after all, Emily took a breath and prepared to tell her family the sad news.

TBC...

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><p><strong>AN2: So now you all know what happened to Daphne. I have been debating whether to kill her off like this or have her show up with some elaborate and (slightly) preposterous explanation for her 17 year absence but in the end, this felt more appropriate. Closure without having to get all outlandish. (Although I briefly considered having Daphne run into Warehouse 13 agents in Reno and through a series of mishaps, she ended being recruited to the warehouse as an agent and hence, why she couldn't contact Emily. Either that or Witness Protection hehehe...) So yeah, glad I chose this...also it leaves the field clear for the JJEmily fun I am planning for later chapters. Enjoy!**


	15. Chapter 14

**AN: This is mostly a filler chapter...but it does contain some very important stuff. I realized that the next episode I wanted to work with took place several weeks after the last one so I am filling in the time gap. Can't jump from late November to early February without mentioning the time in between. That's just crazy talk. So hope you all like this. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau after having spent years working alongside some of the best profilers in the country had managed to pick up a thing or two when it came to observing behavior, but it didn't take a profiler to see that something was up with Emily Prentiss.

It had been a few days since the team had returned from Nevada and the dramatic fail they'd had to swallow, and in those days JJ had noticed a marked change in Emily. The easy camaraderie she'd begun to develop with Reid and Morgan seemed almost non-existent now. There was a rigidness to her spine that hadn't been there before Nevada and Frank and, among other small signs, there was a profound sadness in her eyes whenever JJ had managed to get close enough to the dark haired woman to see her eyes.

To the casual observer, Emily seemed fine. No one who wasn't paying attention would even notice the difference, but JJ noticed because, lately, she seemed to notice every detail about Emily. Ever since Reid had nailed her in the head with one of his 'physics magic' rockets and Emily had laughed it off and asked him to show her what he'd done, JJ had started crushing on the older agent, knowing full well it would never go anywhere. Emily was undoubtedly straight and JJ wasn't about to go down that road again with a curious straight woman…that road only leads to pain and regrets. Still, she knew there was something wrong with Emily and she wasn't surprised to discover that it hurt to think Emily didn't trust her enough to tell her what was going on...no the surprise came in _how much_ it hurt.

* * *

><p>In the days that followed Hotch's revelation that Daphne was dead and had been one of Frank's many victims, Emily had been busy grieving while making funeral arrangements. She wanted nothing but the best for her old friend and she spared no expense...even if the only people in attendance would be herself, her parents and Katie. Both of Daphne's parents were now deceased...her mother to cancer and her father to liver failure after over a decade of trying to drink away the pain of losing both his daughter and his wife. There was no one else related to Daphne who was still alive and it made Emily even sadder when she'd discovered there wasn't even a distant cousin or aunt or uncle out there somewhere.<p>

The day of the funeral, Emily was standing at the gravesite, staring at the casket that held the meager remains of her friend, and tried to drown out the priest's words as she allowed herself a moment to remember Daphne as she was the last time they were together. After a few moments, she felt someone step up next to her and out of curiosity she turned to see who it was and she was surprised to see Hotch standing there, dark suit, dark shades and his typical somber expression. Oddly, it felt almost right to have him there, given his role in the investigation and she was, frankly, thankful he was there. It helped ease some of her own guilt for stopping her own personal search for Daphne a few months ago.

Aaron Hotchner wasn't quite sure why he'd shown up at the funeral but he felt he needed to be there. Since discovering that the young girl he'd been asked to find so long ago had fallen victim to Frank, there'd been a small pool of guilt in his belly. He rarely ever questioned his methods and his ability to do his job, but a small voice had begun to question if he'd tried harder, if he'd actually gone to Reno to physically look for the girl, would he have found her? Would he have found Frank and stopped his killing career right then? Or was this the way things were supposed to play out? Hotch slowly turned to look at Emily, her parents and the younger girl who he assumed was Emily's sister Katie, their grief abundantly evident on their faces, even with dark glasses on, and he knew that this wasn't how things were supposed to play out. No one should have to suffer the way the young girl in the casket had in the last moments of her life. Daphne Morris should've grown old and gotten married, had children, a career, a full life before the reaper finally came for her. Hotch hung his head as the priest began the final portion of his prayers for Miss Morris, knowing that there were no words in any language that would ease the pain this small family felt right now.

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><p>Emily was tempted to take a few days off after the funeral, Hotch had offered them to her, but she knew if she did, she'd just sit in her apartment slowly going crazy as the memories assaulted her. At least if she was working, she'd have a distraction from the images in her head.<p>

So she went back to work right after the funeral. A few weeks passed, they flew out for two cases, one to Ohio and the other to Florida, and in the interim, she handled the case files and paperwork that came with consultations and profiles by fax.

Every evening, when they were in town, Emily left the office no later than six and met Katie at her condo for dinner and company. Her daughter seemed to know, without Emily ever saying anything, that her mom didn't want to be alone right now. So Katie would usually be there waiting when Emily got home, with dinner cooking and a glass of wine resting on the counter.

Katie understood, even without her mom coming right out and saying it, that Daphne had most likely been more than just a friend to her mom. The day after Katie graduated high school, Emily had sat her down and basically come out of the closet to her, feeling that she was now old enough to understand.

It hadn't changed the way she felt about her mom, but it did change the way she saw her mom. She no longer teased her mom about every man she saw her with…instead she would just grin whenever she saw her mom talking to a beautiful woman, which wasn't very often because as far as she could tell, her mom didn't date much...if at all. Katie wanted her mom to find love and be happy, and she had started to wonder if it would ever happen but now, with this chapter of her mom's past finally closed, Katie was hopeful that her mom might be ready to finally move on and find someone special to share her life.

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><p>For the first time in nearly 17 years, Emily didn't dread the arrival of December 7...Daphne's birthday. For years after Daphne's disappearance, Emily would get really quiet a few days before and sink into a fairly profound sadness as the date approached. She would spend Daphne's birthday alone in her bedroom, flipping through the old photos she still had of the blonde and wishing things had been different.<p>

This year though, Emily decided that Daphne deserved something better now that she was finally resting at peace. So instead of her usual solitude, Emily invited her parents and Katie to her condo and she toasted to Daphne and they all celebrated the life she'd lived and reminisced about the good times rather than focusing on the facts of her death. Emily went to bed that night feeling a little lighter than she had in weeks.

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><p>The next morning Emily didn't have to be at the office so she spent the morning cleaning the condo and listening to the radio. It was while she was scrubbing the stove that a song came on that was slower than the ones before it and it took Emily a moment to focus on the lyrics. When she did, she stopped cleaning to really listen to the song.<p>

_Sunny days seem to hurt the most_

_I wear the pain like a heavy coat,_

_I feel you everywhere I go._

_I see your smile, I see your face_

_I hear you laughing in the rain_

_I still can't believe you're gone_

Emily found herself nodding along to the song as she thought about Daphne again.

_It ain't fair you died too young_

_Like a story that had just begun_

_But death, tore the pages all away._

_God knows how I miss you_

_All the hell that I've been through _

_Just knowing, no one could take your place._

_Sometimes I wonder...who you'd be today._

Emily felt the tears gathering in her eyes as she listened. Over the years, she'd thought about what her life might've been like if Daphne hadn't vanished, if they had gotten the chance to see where their relationship could've gone.

_Would you see the world?_

_Would you chase your dreams?_

_Settle down with a family?_

_I wonder, what would you name your babies?_

_Some days the sky's so blue_

_I feel like I can talk to you_

_And I know it might sound crazy…_

_It ain't fair you died too young_

_Like a story that had just begun_

_But Death, tore the pages all away._

_God knows how I miss you_

_All the hell that I've been through _

_Just knowing, no one could take your place._

_Sometimes I wonder...who you'd be today._

In her mind, Emily replaced the word 'death' with Frank...finally having a target for the anger she'd always felt whenever she thought about Daphne being killed at such a young age. As she caught the tail end of the song, Emily knew this song would always have a place in her heart.

_Sunny days seem to hurt the most_

_I wear the pain like a heavy coat_

_The only thing that gives me hope_

_Is I know...I'll see you again someday._

When the song faded out and the station's DJ came on identifying the song and the artist, Emily made a mental note of it before she hurried to her laptop and downloaded the song from iTunes. Emily wasn't the type to torture herself by listening to that song everyday but she wanted to have it on hand for the days she knew were coming up...the days when something or someone would remind her of the love she'd lost and she would need something to get her through it. The song, while slow and sad, also lifted her spirits a bit...it seemed to really touch that place in her heart where the pain, the guilt and the anger over Daphne's death resided.

Before too long, Emily wiped the tears from her eyes and took a deep calming breath before she went back to her cleaning. It was going to be a long day but, maybe now it could also be a day of healing.

* * *

><p>The week before Christmas, the team was taken off case rotation and given the holiday off. Morgan took a flight to Chicago to be with his mom and sisters, Reid went to Las Vegas to spend the holiday with his mom, Garcia stayed in town and volunteered at a local food kitchen to help serve the holiday meal. Hotch spent the holiday with Hailey and their infant son Jack. Gideon took off for his cabin in the woods for a solitary, peaceful holiday away from the commercialism of the season. JJ, happily, went back home to Pennsylvania to spend Christmas with her parents, her brother and his family. She had three beautiful nieces, 5 year old triplets, that she was determined to spoil rotten.<p>

Emily spent the holiday with her parents and Katie, just as they'd done since Katie was born, just the four of them having a quiet dinner on Christmas Eve and opening gifts in the morning. Then, as had become the tradition once Katie was 7 and old enough to be trusted to behave herself, Christmas night her parents hosted a dinner party for a handful of visiting dignitaries and other important political figures who didn't have a place to go for Christmas. Usually a handful of Ambassadors who were stationed here without their families who for one reason or another couldn't make it back home for the holiday. Or a Senator or Representative who failed to book a flight to their home state and was at a loose end for the night.

Ever since becoming a grandmother, Elizabeth had realized that she didn't like the idea of someone being alone at Christmas…especially when it was so easy for her to host an evening of food, wine and fun. And if in the process she further cemented some very valuable political ties, well that was just a bonus.

The Christmas holiday passed fairly quickly, and soon they were back at work. Emily was glad for the distraction of work since she hated being alone with her thoughts lately. When she wasn't thinking about Daphne, Emily found herself thinking about JJ and wondering what the younger blonde was doing at random times of the day.

At least at work, Emily could satisfy her need to see JJ safely under the cover of work. Emily's crush on JJ was growing and Emily didn't have the first clue what she was going to do about it.

She knew JJ was straight and that nothing would ever happen, but that didn't stop her vivid imagination from conjuring up images that were best left locked away.

TBC...

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><p><strong>AN2: The song is Kenny Chesney's 'Who You'd Be Today" and I highly recommend checking it out...for me it really seems to capture the feeling of losing someone you love to death. Also, I'm glad that so many of you agreed with how I handled the Daphne question. This way provides closure. (Although, now that I've written it down, the idea of writing a Warehouse 13 fic where Daphne, or some other random character, ends up joining the warehouse and having to make her family and friends think she's dead or run away...has merit...might one day write it who knows?) Anyway, hope this didn't disappoint. Ciao!<strong>


	16. Chapter 15

**AN: I know it's been four months since the last update but this was another chapter that had to be rewritten due to a hard drive wipe out back in June. Hope it's good. I am moving forward but the two part episode in season 2 (The Big Game & Revelations) was important to me in the development of the JJ/Emily dynamic. So I used it in this chapter. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 15<span>**

It was Superbowl Sunday and Emily had been coerced into joining the team at a local sports bar for drinks and dancing. It was a way to blow off some steam and also to get to see each other in a non-work setting.

Hotch had even brought his wife along and if Katie had been 21, Emily might've brought her along as well. As it was, her daughter was at the dorms tonight enjoying a superbowl party. So Emily found herself at a small table with Hotch, his wife Hailey and Garcia while Morgan danced with three women at once. Emily had just come back from making a drinks run and she handed the drinks to Hotch and his wife.

Hailey Hotchner took this opportunity to ask, **"So how are they treating you at the BAU Emily?"**

Before Emily could answer, Hotch spoke up, **"She means am I being nice to you?"** He knew his wife, being the kind hearted person that she was, would be concerned about the newest agent on his team.

Hailey just nodded, agreeing with her husband's 'translation' of her question.

Emily, diplomatically because she did indeed learn from the best growing up, simply said, **"Actually, everyone's been incredibly nice."**

**"Good." **Hailey said, turning to reward Hotch with a kiss for not being mean to the new girl.

Garcia took that moment, back to the table and eyes glued to Morgan on the dance floor, to comment, **"Just look at him. He's like a cat."**

Emily and Hailey turned to look at Morgan then and they both grinned but it was Emily who said, **"More like a dog!" ** She was getting back into the groove of the team after the news about Daphne and her withdrawal from the usual team social events.

Garcia felt the need to defend her not-so-secret crush, **"He did not ask them to dance. They asked him."**

Emily, knowing the futility of arguing with Garcia, conceded, **"Okay, he's a cat."**

**"An alley cat!" ** Hailey chimed in, not yet willing to concede to the perky tech goddess.

Hotch just laughed as he grabbed his wife's hand lead her to the dance floor, saying something about showing them how it's done.

Emily watched them go, a feeling of wistful longing blossoming in her chest as she realized how much she wanted someone in her life. **"That is so sweet." **

Garcia pretended not to hear the longing in Emily's tone and just turned to the dark haired agent and said, **"I'm going to the loo. Do ****_not_**** let anyone steal my seat."**

**"I'll guard it with my life."**

Garcia left then, needing a moment to figure out if the tone of Emily's voice was about Hotch in specific or just the general sweetness of the moment.

Emily's attention wavered away from the dance floor as her gaze scanned the room until she noticed JJ in the corner by the restrooms playing darts with two guys who looked to be in college. She allowed herself a moment to just watch the blond as she played, the red shirt and jeans combo she was wearing was giving Emily's imagination a very NC-17 rated kick start. Before she could get to the really good images though, she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and noticed she had a text from Katie. Emily smiled as she opened the text and read her daughter's question asking if she was having fun. Emily quickly typed in her reply and before too long she was immersed in a texting conversation with Katie.

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><p>Out of the corner of her eye, JJ noticed Garcia walking into the ladies room that was next to the dartboard but she didn't think about it as she let her dart fly. It unerringly found its proper target and she won yet another game against the once-cocky college guys who had challenged her earlier.<p>

**"Oh yes! Another one bites the dust!" ** JJ raised her arms in the air in victory, rubbing it in just a little bit.

One of the guys, already thoroughly relieved of any cockiness, from having lost five games in a row to the petite blonde just asked, **"How'd you get so good at this?"**

JJ turned to him as the other guy went to collect the darts from the board, **"Where I'm from darts is like a national pastime."**

**"Seriously?"**

**"Yeah we were too small for a bowling alley." ** JJ liked to joke about the small town she was from but she loved her hometown. She just didn't want to spend her whole life there like everyone else she'd ever known.

JJ looked around the bar at that moment, looking to spot the rest of her team. She easily spotted Morgan, Hotch and Hailey on the dance floor, Reid was sitting with some people and looked to be having fun. JJ's eyes soon landed on Emily sitting alone at a table, obviously not being one to join the dancing and instead keeping an eye on the drinks the others had left behind. JJ frowned though, when she noticed that Emily was focused on her cell phone, JJ surmised the dark haired agent was probably having a texting conversation with someone and she was surprised when she realized she was a little jealous of the person who had captured Emily's attention so completely even during a fun night out. JJ was about to go over there and find out who the other woman was talking to when her phone chirped at her. She lifted it and checked the caller ID and sighed as she saw it was from work…that usually meant their fun time was about to end.

JJ turned to the guys she was playing with, the second guy getting ready to take his turn. She wrapped her arms around them, to soften her words, as she said, **"Sorry boys, you're gonna have to find someone else to humiliate you. Duty calls." ** With that she walked away heading for the main doors to find a quieter place to take the call.

The guys grumbled good naturedly and said their goodbyes as the cute blonde walked away.

JJ called the number back to find out what was going on. She was still in the bar when the call was answered and when she managed to get outside she said, **"I'm sorry, can you repeat that? Okay um…have the police fax over everything they have so far…I'll take care of the notifications, most everyone is here with me now…thanks."**

JJ hung up the phone and sighed, she really didn't want to go back to work tonight. It was Sunday for crying out loud! She took a moment to prepare herself to deal with a team of profilers who weren't going to be too happy at having their good time cut short. After a moment, JJ reentered the bar and within five minutes she had everyone rounded up and ready to leave.

Hotch put Hailey in a cab first then he joined the others to head back to the BAU. On the ride over, JJ noticed Emily sending one more text and she had to stop herself from asking who she was texting even now. It was none of her business but she couldn't help but wonder if Emily was involved with someone.

Emily sent Katie one last text stating that the team had been called in to work and she might have to go out of town for a few days. Katie quickly replied back, **_'okay. Stay safe and get the bad guys. Love you! I'll be waiting when u get back.'_**

Emily smiled, her daughter was really the best kid a mom could ask for, she always knew what to say.

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><p>When they got back to the BAU, the rest of the team went to the conference room for coffee and to wait for the briefing. JJ went to her office to pick up the faxed over files and to call Gideon in from wherever he was, since she didn't have a moment to do it on the way over.<p>

The team was in the conference room, basically picking on Morgan who complained about having his groove thing interrupted by work. Gideon walked into the room and without missing a beat jumped right in with the teasing.

Hotch, in an effort to maybe keep it from getting worse, asked him, **"where were you tonight?"**

**"I told you, I went to the Smithsonian." **Gideon explained, almost feeling like a teenager who broke curfew, which was quite a feat seeing as how he was older than Hotch by several years.

Emily chimed in, **"You missed a good time."**

**"I had a good time." ** Gideon shot back, defending his decision to spend superbowl Sunday at the Smithsonian with an old friend and some liquor rather than at a loud bar.

JJ walked in then, having programed all the pertinent information into the computer system that controlled the flat screen television on the wall where the case files would appear. **"Well that's definitely over." **

JJ called up the photos in the file and began to brief the team about their next case. A couple in Georgia was killed in their home. Even though it was only one couple, they were a high profile couple and thus the local cops asked for help.

Hotch announced they would be wheels up in an hour and then went to call the on-call pilot that would fly them to Georgia to get the jet ready.

Everyone nodded and then went off to grab their go bags and get to the airport. They could already tell this one was going to be a bad one.

The plane ride was spent working and devising a plan of attack. Once assignments were handed out, Hotch told them all to get some rest, they were going to need it.

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><p>It had been an intense few days as their unsub continued to kill people he deemed to be sinners, each time calling the cops before committing his crime. By the time they had figured out that their unsub was a man named Tobias Hankel, it was too late to warn Reid and JJ who had gone out to his address earlier thinking he was just a witness.<p>

Emily was silently freaking out at the thought of JJ out there with the unsub with only Reid as back up and protection, she silently willed Hotch to drive faster.

When they arrived at Hankel's place, Emily and Derek broke away from the main contingent of local cops and went to search the barn. They took a few locals with them but the bulk of the officers went with Hotch and Gideon to search the main house. Emily's heart was pounding with adrenaline as she followed behind Derek as they entered the barn.

Guns drawn, flashlights out searching the darkened barn, Emily couldn't help but notice the stench of blood in the area and she had to work hard to keep the panic at bay and focus on the task at hand, which was to find JJ and Reid.

Suddenly, JJ popped up from behind some barrels, gun drawn and aimed at the cops and Derek, **"FBI! Don't move!" ** JJ shouted in her most authoritative voice.

Everyone turned towards her and pointed their guns upon seeing hers pointed at them. There was a moment of chaos as Derek started shouting over JJ's repeated orders to drop their guns, trying to get the cops to stand down and get through to JJ that they were on the same team.

Finally, JJ calmed down enough for Derek to step closer and Emily came around on JJ's left side, slowly approaching the blonde who was obviously still in shock.

JJ lowered her gun and said, **"Tobias Hankel is the unsub. We thought he was just a witness…"**

Derek tried to talk her down, **"We know. It's okay. JJ, where's Reid?"**

JJ wasn't listening to Morgan anymore, she was recounting the horror of the dogs and having to kill them.

Emily stepped closer, not truly knowing what she could do but determined to break JJ out of her shock. **"JJ, look at me. Look at me."** Emily waited until JJ had turned her head to her, her eyes registered recognition and she came out of her shock just a bit. **"Where's Reid?" **There was more Emily wanted to ask but that could wait, right now they had to find Reid.

JJ took a moment to look into Emily's warm brown eyes full of concern and she started to come out of her shock a bit more. **"We split up, h-he said he was going to go around back."**

Derek took off, determined to find the young profiler.

Emily nodded at JJ as the rest of the local cops left the barn and they were soon alone. She held out her hand to the blonde, **"Okay, come with me?"**

JJ started at Emily's hand for a few moments, her face still showing the fear she felt when the wild dogs had attacked her. Finally, she slowly reached out and placed her hand in Emily's.

Together, they slowly left the barn, Emily making sure to avoid the spot where the dogs were lying and also the blood soaked mattress where they had killed the unsub's latest victim. Soon, they were out in the open air and Emily carefully led JJ over to one of the SUVs parked by the house. She sat JJ down in the back seat, facing out of the car and took her hands. **"JJ, are you hurt anywhere?"**

By this time, JJ had recovered enough of her senses to really look at Emily and she smiled at the genuine concern in the other woman's eyes and in her voice. **"Just…just my arm." **JJ held out her arm and Emily saw the blood that was seeping through the white fabric of JJ's shirt sleeve.

Emily nodded, **"Right. I'll get a paramedic, I'll be right back , okay?"**

JJ nodded, needing a moment to calm herself before she said or did something that she would regret.

Emily was only gone ten seconds, the paramedics had already arrived and were just waiting for someone to need them.

It didn't take them long to patch up JJ's arm and wrap a bandage around the wound.

After Hotch and Gideon cleared the house, Emily led JJ inside. They settled into the living room with all the computer monitors when Morgan walked in and confirmed that Reid was nowhere in the area. He was missing and it didn't take a profiler to realize that Tobias Hankel had taken him.

All that remained now was to find where Hankel would have taken Reid and find them before it was too late for the youngest profiler on the team.

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><p>A whole day had passed and Garcia had been flown in to help with Hankel's computer system. It was in the evening that they finally found a lead in the form of Hankel's former NA sponsor. Emily agreed to talk to him in the morning and she decided to take JJ with her. She saw how Derek was avoiding JJ, blaming her in a way for Reid getting taken. Emily didn't blame JJ for that, after all it had been Reid's idea to split up but it had been Hotch's decision to send them out here alone in the first place.<p>

Emily slowly approached the bathroom where JJ was splashing water on her face and staring into the mirror. Emily tried not to startle her but JJ was so deep into her own thoughts that the small sound Emily made had JJ turning around with her gun drawn.

Emily lifted her arms and said, **"JJ it's just me. Are you alright?"**

JJ put away the gun and secured the holster back on her hip before she looked up at Emily, smiling to cover for the fear the lingered. **"Yeah, I'm sorry…you scared me."**

Emily gave a small nod, **"I'm sorry." **Emily paused a moment before she said, **"I'm talking tomorrow with some guy who knew Hankel from Narcotics Anonymous. Why don't you come with me? Get out of the house."**

JJ nodded, **"Yeah, okay."**

Emily turned and began to walk away from the small bathroom when she heard JJ calling her back. **"Emily?"**

**"Yeah?"** Emily stepped back into the doorway as JJ walked closer.

**"How come none of this gets to you?"** JJ asked, genuinely curious about how Emily could look at what they all saw on a daily basis and not get flustered or anything.

**"What do you mean?"** Emily was a bit confused, thinking it was a good thing that she was able to handle the horrors of the job.

**"You came off a desk job. Now suddenly you're in the field surrounded by mutilated bodies and you've never even flinched." **JJ maintained eye contact, hoping to see the truth in Emily's eyes.

Neither of them noticed that Hotch was nearby listening until he spoke up in agreement, **"She's right, you've never blinked." **Hotch had a feeling that Emily's stoic façade was more about proving she belonged in the BAU than it was about actually being able to deal with what they had to see every day.

Emily wasn't ready to explain to them that she had been preparing for this job since she joined the FBI, that losing Daphne had somehow prepared her for the horrors of the job. Since learning the truth of what happened to Daphne, Emily had somehow managed to harden her heart against the images she had to see every day. She didn't know how to begin to explain that she had done plenty of flinching and blinking, she just saved that for when she was alone. Having Katie in her life to remind her of the good that still existed in the world kept her balanced and able to do this job. Each serial killer/bad guy she helped take off the streets was one less that was out there preying on other innocent girls and women. She had no way of explaining all of that just then so she settled instead on, **"I guess I…compartmentalize better than most people."**

They seemed to accept that and before either could say anything else, they heard Derek calling for them and they all ran off towards him, hoping it was a lead on Reid and Hankel.

Emily knew JJ's curiosity wasn't satisfied and that she would have more questions but for now, they were all focused on finding Reid and stopping Hankel. Later, when the young genius was back safe, Emily knew JJ would ask her again. She just hoped she'd have the answers the blonde was expecting.

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><p><strong>Emily's ability to handle the BAU was something I wanted to address because her line about compartmentalizing gets used way too often in fanfics and to me it never really rang true. So I put forth this theory which fits nicely with the AU I created by having her keep the baby and by introducing the Daphne storyline. Hope that makes sense. <strong>


	17. Chapter 16

**AN: Sorry for the delay. Hope this doesn't disappoint. I am working on getting better with the updates. **

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><p>The plane ride back to DC was quiet. Reid was stretched out on one of the sofas near the rear of the plane, resting after his ordeal with Hankel, the rest of the team was scattered throughout the front area of the plane, each lost in thought.<p>

Morgan, who considered himself a surrogate big brother to the young genius, was trying to rid his mind of all the worst case scenario outcomes that they'd managed to somehow avoid.

JJ was thinking about how easily it could've been her in Reid's place with Hankel. She inwardly shivered at the thought of what he might've done to her.

Gideon, who was aware of the fatherly mentor role he played in Reid's life, was giving a silent word of thanks to whomever was out there listening that the young agent was back with them safe and alive.

Hotch, who as the team leader was ultimately responsible for what happened in the field, was mentally berating himself for sending JJ and Reid out to Hankel's in the first place without any backup. The whole situation could've easily ended up a lot worse than it had.

Emily was sitting with her eyes closed, thankful that they had found Reid and that Hankel was dead. Emily often saw Reid as the younger brother she always wanted. He was a sweet, considerate man who had welcomed Emily into the team almost from the first moment. She was also keeping her eyes closed to avoid making eye contact with JJ. She knew that now that the case was over and Reid was safe, JJ might start questioning her again over her 'compartmentalization' skills and Emily wasn't ready yet to come clean with the truth.

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><p>The team walked into the BAU bullpen tired but ready to write up their reports and then Hotch told them all to go home and get some rest. He also gave them the next day off to fully recover. They didn't have to be told twice.<p>

Emily was almost to her car when she felt her phone vibrate. She checked her text messages and saw one from Katie saying she was crashing at her apartment because the dorms were too loud thanks to a big party. Emily grinned and sent a text back letting her daughter know she was back in DC and on her way home. Emily had just hit the send button when she felt a hand on her arm. She jumped and spun around, her free hand reaching for her gun when she noticed it was just JJ. "JJ, you scared me! What's up?"

JJ grinned shyly, "Um…I was wondering if…" Suddenly, JJ lost what little courage she'd built up as she left the building and said, "Never mind. Have a good night Emily." JJ turned to go but Emily caught her by the arm and stopped her.

"JJ what were you wondering?" Emily was curious now.

JJ sighed, "I was just wondering if…if you wanted to go have a drink? If you're free that is, I just…I don't want to be alone just yet."

Emily took a moment to process what JJ had just asked and when she did, she smiled, "Sure. Which bar?"

JJ smiled at the acceptance then she said, "Would you mind…just coming over to my place? I have a bottle of wine that needs to be opened…I just don't think I can deal with a loud bar or club tonight. I can still hear the cries of pain from those dogs when I shot them."

"Of course, I'll follow you, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Emily."

"No problem. Lead the way." Emily waited until JJ was in her own car before she got into hers and typed a quick text to Katie to let her know she was going to be a while. She didn't want her to worry about her.

JJ glanced over at Emily just in time to see her sending a text on her phone and she frowned. It seemed obvious to JJ that Emily probably had plans, or at the very least someone waiting for her tonight, but she had agreed to have a drink anyway. JJ wondered who Emily was texting this time. She remembered Emily texting at the bar before they had gotten the case in Georgia and it made JJ curious all over again, wondering if it was the same person both times.

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><p>Sleepily, Katie fumbled for her cell phone when she heard her mother's custom text tone. She opened one eye and read the text saying her mom would be delayed a few hours. Katie frowned at first then she replied back <em>'is everything okay?'<em>

Katie smiled when she got a text back letting her know that everything was fine but a co-worker just needed some extra attention. Katie wondered if it was the hot blonde that her mom had shown her a picture of a few weeks ago. She hoped it was and that this might be her mom's chance to see if the hot blonde was interested. Still smiling, Katie sent back a text saying _'okay. Be safe. See you later.'_ Then she closed her eyes and went back to sleep, secure in the knowledge that her mom could take care of herself.

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><p>Emily grinned to herself as she waited for the light to turn green while she read Katie's texts. Emily could almost hear the gears spinning in her daughter's head when she mentions a co-worker needing some extra attention. She knew Katie meant well, but ever since she had turned 18 and Emily had told her she was gay, she'd been trying to set her up with one woman after another and it was starting to get on Emily's nerves. Still, she knew Katie just wanted to see her happy and that was enough to keep her annoyance at bay most of the time.<p>

Emily pulled up behind JJ's car on the street outside the blonde's house and took a deep breath as she turned the car off and opened her door. Emily knew JJ was straight and there was zero chance of them being together but that didn't stop her heart from crushing on the younger woman. But tonight wasn't about that, tonight was about being there for a friend who had gone through something extremely traumatic and just being there to help her through it. Emily met up with JJ at the sidewalk that led to the small house JJ rented and together they walked up to the door.

In silence, JJ walked beside Emily and let her into the house. As she closed and locked the door behind them, JJ spoke for the first time since the FBI parking lot, "make yourself at home. I'll go get that bottle of wine. The living room is through there." JJ pointed to a doorway then slipped away into the kitchen to get the bottle of wine.

Emily nodded then went in the direction of the living room. She walked into the room and looked around, taking note of the sofa, loveseat and coffee table that curled in front of the entertainment unit which housed a television, DVD player and stereo system. Emily grinned as she looked around and spotted the surround sound speakers that were fairly cleverly hidden around the room. If you didn't know what to look for, you'd never notice them but Emily was very familiar with surround sound, she had her own setup in her condo and in the house in New Jersey. It was the best way she knew to watch a movie at home.

Emily also noticed a few bookshelves with books and DVDs mixed in together. She walked closer and smiled when she realized the DVDs were movie versions of the books. It was both cute and peculiar at the same time and Emily wasn't sure if this little quirk would increase her crush on JJ or diminish it but she did know that it made her want to learn more about the blonde.

JJ walked into the living room silently, holding two glasses of wine, and stopped when she saw Emily looking at her bookcase. She grinned, thinking it was so typical of a profiler to look around and snoop rather than simply wait on the sofa. JJ didn't care, she was pretty much an open book and there wasn't anything in her living room that would betray the few secrets she still held close to her heart.

"Learn anything?" JJ asked, not able to stand the silence much longer.

Emily turned towards JJ, slightly startled and more than a little chagrined to have been caught snooping. Emily cleared her throat, "Only that you have an impressive movie and book collection."

JJ nodded then gestured towards the couch in a silent invitation for Emily to sit as she walked over and sat down. Emily followed and sat down, taking the glass of wine JJ offered. "thank you, Emily for being here. I just…I didn't want to be alone just yet."

"It's not a problem JJ." Emily wanted to say that she'd always be there for the young blonde and that there was nowhere else she'd rather be but she didn't think it was the right time to be saying things that could be taken to mean more than they should. She didn't want to say or do anything that might push JJ away before she could get a hold on her crush.

JJ leaned back into the couch and looked into her glass for a moment then built up the courage to ask Emily, "you were texting someone at the bar before the case and then again tonight just before we came here. Is there someone waiting up for you?"

Emily was surprised that JJ had seen her texting both before and after their case in Georgia but she didn't show it, instead she simply smiled. "my…sister was texting me. She's staying at my place for a few days and I was just telling her I was going to be a little late getting home. It's not a big deal, she's probably already asleep." Emily's pause before she said sister was her own subconscious need to be honest with JJ while at the same time not wanting to give JJ a reason to judge her for her past just yet.

JJ smiled, "I didn't know you had a sister. Is she older or younger?" JJ was glad it wasn't a boyfriend waiting up for Emily, because that meant she could still hold on to her delusion that Emily was single and maybe even gay and that JJ still had some kind of a shot with her. She also didn't want to talk about the dogs and her experience in the barn so she latched onto the relatively safe topic of Emily's sister.

Emily smiled, thinking about Katie and then reminded herself that she couldn't talk like a proud mama but as a sister. She ruefully shook her head as she deliberately altered her voice and her body language. "Katie is younger than me by fifteen years. She was an unexpected pregnancy but my parents quickly adapted. She's in college now, at Georgetown and she stays with me when the dorms get too loud to study."

JJ smiled, "sounds like the two of you are very close despite the age difference."

Emily nodded, "Yeah we are. My parents were usually busy with their own careers so I was the one who took care of her most of the time."

"I get that. My sister Amy was older than me and she was usually the one who took care of me when mom and dad were working or busy." JJ's eyes took on a sadness as she remembered her big sister who had committed suicide when JJ was only 11. It was still a painful memory to think that she wasn't able to help her sister but the pain had lessened over the years until it was mostly sadness and a dull ache. She often wondered what Amy would think of her career choice and if she still would've joined the FBI if her sister hadn't killed herself.

Emily saw the sadness in JJ's eyes at the mention of her sister and knew there was a sad story there. JJ's use of the past tense when talking about her sister didn't escape Emily's notice either which told her that JJ's sister was no longer alive. Emily was torn between her curiosity over JJ's sister and wanting to respect JJ's privacy. In the end, the respect won and she changed the subject. "so, what do your parents think about you being a big bad FBI agent?"

The slight amusement in Emily's tone made JJ smile as it pulled her out of her sad thoughts about Amy. She chuckled a little as she said, "they're still convinced it's a phase. They think it's a way for me to pass the time until I find a nice guy and get married. They don't get that this is what I want to do with my life."

Emily's grin faded a tiny bit but then came back full force, "I'm sure they just want what's best for you. This is a dangerous job. My own mom expressed concern over my decision to join the FBI, but she was convinced it was my way of rebelling against her."

JJ shook her head, "Parents are the same all over I guess. And yeah, this job is dangerous but, it's also extremely rewarding. Catching the bad guy, making sure they don't hurt anyone else, making the world just a little bit safer…there's no better feeling than that for me. Even if my role in it isn't as pivotal as the rest of the team."

"Your role is just as important as the profilers. You keep things running smoothly between us and the press so we can focus on catching the bad guy. Besides, I've seen you, paying attention and offering useful insights when you notice something one of us missed. I don't think we could do what we do so well with you JJ." Emily didn't want JJ doubting herself or her role on the team. It didn't sit right with Emily to hear JJ denigrating her role in the process of catching the bad guy.

JJ smiled, "Thank you." JJ paused, not sure how else to respond to that praise. It was then she noticed that Emily's glass was empty, "would you like a refill?"

Emily glanced at her glass and thought about it but realized that if she had another glass, she wouldn't be able to drive back home. "I probably shouldn't. I still have to drive home."

JJ wasn't ready to end their night so she said, "you don't have to drive home. I have a spare bedroom if you want it, unless your sister will be worried if you don't show up tonight."

Emily thought about that, knowing that all she would have to do is send Katie a text saying she was spending the night at JJ's and her daughter wouldn't worry about her…but could she really spend the night in the same house as JJ, with wine in her system and trust herself not to do something stupid, like make a move on the younger woman? Emily realized that JJ didn't want to end their time together and neither did she. "I can just text her I won't be back tonight. If you're sure you don't' mind me staying over."

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sincere Emily." JJ smiled, happy to know Emily was staying.

"Okay then I'll stay. Just let me grab my go bag from the car, okay?"

"Okay, I'll pour you another glass while you're gone."

"Thanks."

Emily quickly went out to her car and got her small overnight bag, texting with one hand to Katie that she wouldn't be home until the morning. She wasn't expecting a reply, knowing her daughter was most likely asleep already but still, it eased her own mind to let her know ahead of time.

Emily turned to walk back into JJ's house and she stopped a moment to just look at the house. She took a deep breath before giving herself a mental pep talk about how she was going to keep her control and not do something stupid that could ruin this friendship she and JJ were starting. She was going to keep her libido in check and not make a move on JJ in her time of vulnerability. With her mental armor in place, Emily began walking back towards the house.

JJ, after pouring the wine refills, paused a moment in her kitchen and looked down at the counter. She knew Emily was straight but that didn't stop her brain from conjuring scenarios where, after a bit too much wine, something might happen. JJ's mind produced an image of her and Emily kissing and it was enough to make JJ blush, thinking it would be wonderful to find out how Emily's lips felt against her own. But, she knew tonight wasn't the night for that kind of thinking. Tonight was about not being alone…but if JJ was offered an opportunity tonight to find out if Emily was completely straight or if she had a shot, JJ was going to take it. The wine and maybe even a movie…might help that along. JJ smiled as she heard the front door open, knowing Emily was coming back, and she wondered how long it would take her to create the opportunity she wanted to have to get her answers.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, I know that Emily probably should've been honest about Katie but she is still a tad insecure about the whole teenage mom thing. Hope it wasn't too bad. <strong>


End file.
